Arab parties win record 19 seats in Israel’s election

Preliminary results have emerged after 93% of the votes were counted in Israel’s parliamentary election.

“Operative Information Center-OMM” reports that Israel’s Channel 12 television said this.

Based on most of the votes counted, the governing bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won 53 seats, while the opposition bloc led by former military chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot secured 48.

The current results show that neither political bloc has secured the 61-seat majority needed to form a government in the 120-member Knesset. Among individual parties, Netanyahu’s Likud came first with 26 seats, while Yashar, led by Eisenkot, ranked second with 21.

The strongest result came from parties representing Palestinian citizens of Israel. Arab parties, which held 16 seats in the previous election, have increased their representation to 19, the highest in the history of Israel’s parliament. Final results are expected to be announced in the coming hours.