Parties opposed to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured 67 seats in the 120-member Knesset (parliament) after 85.6 percent of votes were counted in Tuesday's election, according to Wednesday's official results updated by the Central Elections Committee.
With about 85.6 percent of votes counted, Netanyahu's side won 53 seats, while the opposition secured 67, including 48 for former military chief Gadi Eisenkot's bloc and 19 for Arab parties.
Netanyahu's Likud party remained the largest single party with 26 seats, followed by Eisenkot's Yashar party with 21.
The Arab parties have called for a coalition with Eisenkot's bloc based on an unprecedented Jewish-Arab partnership, but ahead of the elections, Eisenkot has repeatedly ruled out governing with Arab parties or relying on their support, while Netanyahu has also rejected their participation in government.
The Central Elections Committee, which oversees the election, said about 7 percent of regular ballots still need further review, and up to 480,000 votes cast in double envelopes in military bases, hospitals and other institutions have yet to be counted.
Under double envelope system, voters place their ballot slips in regular envelopes, which are then inserted into outer envelopes bearing their personal details. The method is believed to allow citizens who cannot reach their registered polling station to vote while preventing double voting and preserving ballot secrecy.
The double-envelope count is expected to finish Thursday evening local time, with the full count completed by Friday, according to the committee and Israel's public broadcaster Kan.
A total of 7,331,981 Israelis are eligible to vote at 12,018 polling stations across the country, according to the Central Elections Committee. Thirty-six party lists are competing.
The election, Israel's first since its fighting with Hamas erupted on Oct 7, 2023, is widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu's leadership, with voters divided over his handling of the wars, security failures, and the country's future direction.
Opposition parties secure 67 seats with over 85 percent of Israeli votes counted
