Netanyahu bloc extends lead in Israeli election but falls short of majority

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right wing religious bloc has strengthened its lead in Israel's parliamentary election but remains short of an outright majority, according to Israeli media reports citing vote counts.

With about 77 percent of ballots counted, Netanyahu's alliance was projected to win 54 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. The rival bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot was tracking at 49 seats. A party or coalition needs 61 seats to form a government on its own.

Netanyahu's Likud party emerged as the single largest party, with projections putting it on 27 seats. Eisenkot's centrist party, Yashar, followed with 22 seats, according to the same vote tallies.

Arab parties were collectively projected to take 17 seats based on the count so far. Eisenkot would need their backing to assemble a governing coalition, but several opposition parties have so far ruled out cooperating with him on that basis.

Netanyahu, for his part, called for the formation of what he described as a strong right wing government that would not include Arab parties.

With roughly a quarter of votes still to be counted, the final composition of the Knesset remained unsettled. Israeli election officials have not yet confirmed final results, and it was not yet clear who would be tasked with forming the next government or who would ultimately serve as prime minister.

Coalition talks in Israel can often stretch for weeks after election day, as parties negotiate over cabinet posts and policy commitments. Given the tight margins reported so far, neither bloc appeared to have a clear path to the 61 seats needed without further negotiation or the cooperation of smaller factions.

Netanyahu, who has served multiple terms as prime minister, has faced a series of inconclusive elections in recent years that have made stable coalition government difficult to achieve. The current vote count suggests another period of political negotiation may lie ahead before a new government can be sworn in.

Eisenkot, a former Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, has positioned his party as a centrist alternative to Netanyahu's camp. His reliance on Arab party support for any coalition arithmetic has been a recurring complication in Israeli politics, where such alliances have historically proven contentious among some Jewish Israeli voters and parties.

Officials and commentators in Israel were watching the remaining vote count closely, since the final tally could still shift the balance of seats among smaller parties that sit near the electoral threshold. Any change in which parties clear that threshold could alter the overall seat distribution in the 120 member Knesset.

No final government formation process has formally begun, and no timeline has been set for when a prime minister designate might be named. Under Israeli procedure, the president typically consults with party leaders after a final official count before tasking a candidate with trying to build a coalition.