Israel election: Netanyahu's bloc falls eight seats short of a majority as Arab-led parties win a record 19

Israel's election has produced no clear winner. With about 90% of votes counted, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc has 53 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, eight short of the 61 needed to govern, The Times of Israel reported. The opposition bloc led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot has 48.

The same figures were reported by Ynet. Seat numbers can still move by one or two as the last ballots are counted.

The results so far

Netanyahu's Likud is still the largest party, with 26 seats, followed by Eisenkot's Yashar with 21. The projected seats for the other parties are:

• Netanyahu's bloc (53): Likud 26, Shas 7, United Torah Judaism 7, Otzma Yehudit 7, Religious Zionism 6.
• Eisenkot's bloc (48): Yashar 21, Naftali Bennett's Beyachad 12, the Democrats 8, Yisrael Beytenu 7.
• Arab-led parties (19): the Joint List and Ra'am.

Netanyahu's bloc held 68 seats in the outgoing Knesset, according to The Times of Israel, so the result is a clear drop for his camp.

A record for Arab-led parties

The 19 seats won by Arab-led parties are an all-time high, up from 10 in the outgoing Knesset, The Times of Israel reported. That makes them potential kingmakers. But most Zionist parties in Eisenkot's camp have ruled out relying on them, with the exception of the Democrats.

Democrats leader Yair Golan urged the opposition to form a government with Arab party support, and Joint List chairman Yousef Jabareen said his party was ready to help remove Netanyahu's government, Ynet reported.

What the leaders said

Eisenkot told supporters: "We have made history," adding that "the public chose change", and called on Netanyahu to step down, according to Ynet.

Netanyahu called on his partners to stay together: "The Zionist majority must come to its senses and unite. Only that way can we guarantee Israel's future." The Times of Israel reported that he also vowed to form a "strong, national, right-wing government" and to "remove the existential threat from Iran".

What happens next

Around half a million "double envelope" ballots, cast mainly by soldiers, prisoners and diplomats, are being counted, and official final results are expected on 4 November, The Times of Israel reported.

President Isaac Herzog will then consult the parties and ask the leader with the best chance to try to form a government. If no one can build a majority, Israel could face another election. Until a new government is sworn in, Netanyahu remains caretaker prime minister.

The outcome matters well beyond Israel. It comes as the United States weighs new strikes on Iran and mediators try to revive talks, as we set out in our election preview.