Netanyahu bloc holds 53 seats with more than 85% of Israel’s vote counted, still short of governing majority

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to hold 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset on Wednesday after more than 85% of Israel’s vote was counted, leaving it eight seats short of a governing majority.

The latest Central Elections Committee update put Gadi Eisenkot’s change bloc at 48 seats and the Arab parties at a combined 19.

More than 5 million votes have now been counted, while hundreds of thousands of double-envelope ballots — including votes from soldiers, diplomats, prisoners and others voting away from their registered polling stations — remain outstanding.

Those remaining ballots could still alter the distribution of seats, with neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot currently able to reach the 61 seats needed to form a government without additional support.

The full count is expected Thursday afternoon, while the final official results are due to be published on Nov. 4.