Netanyahu's bloc leads Israel vote count but still short of majority
With votes still being counted in Israel's election, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc leads but remains short of the seats needed to govern, leaving Arab parties holding the balance.
Counting is under way in Israel's general election, and no bloc has yet won a majority. Early projections from the count put Benjamin Netanyahu's camp ahead, but still short of the number needed to form a government.
With just over two fifths of ballot boxes counted, Netanyahu's bloc was projected to win fifty seven seats in the one hundred and twenty seat parliament, four short of the sixty one needed to govern.
The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot was projected to take forty seven seats, while Arab parties together held sixteen. Those seats could prove decisive, since backing from Arab parties would be enough to push either side over the line.
Netanyahu's Likud party remained the largest single party, ahead of Eisenkot's Yashar party. The figures are still provisional and could change as counting continues.
Official results are still coming in, and coalition talks could take weeks before a new government is formed.
Reporting based on coverage from BBC News.