Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win 57 seats in the 120-member Knesset, four short of a governing majority, as vote counting continued Wednesday, according to The Times of Israel.
With 41.9% of ballot boxes counted, the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot was projected to secure 47 seats, while the predominantly Arab Joint List and Ra'am parties were expected to win the remaining 16, the newspaper reported, citing the Central Elections Committee.
Neither major bloc was projected to secure the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority.
The Arab parties could play a decisive role in government formation, as their combined 16 seats would give Eisenkot's bloc a majority of 63 if they agreed to support it.
Among individual parties, Netanyahu's Likud led with a projected 28 seats, followed by Eisenkot's Yashar with 21.
The predominantly Arab Joint List was projected to win 12 seats, followed by the Together party with 11.
United Torah Judaism and Yisrael Beiteinu were each projected to secure eight seats.
The Democrats, Religious Zionism-Zehut alliance, Otzma Yehudit and Shas were each expected to win seven seats, while Ra'am was projected to secure four.
The figures remain provisional and could change as counting continues.
