Netanyahu's bloc down to 57 seats, as 42 percent of ballots counted

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc held a narrow early lead in Israel’s parliamentary elections, according to the Daily Times, which reported the bloc secured 50.4 percent of the vote against 49.6 percent for the opposition with roughly 28 percent of ballots counted. Arutz Sheva - Israel National News reported that with approximately 48.4 percent of votes counted, the current coalition held 57 seats, the change bloc held 47, and Arab parties held 16.

The election saw high voter turnout, with Dawn reporting that exit polls showed rival Gadi Eisenkot and his opposition bloc were neck and neck with Netanyahu’s camp, though neither side was close to a parliamentary majority. While Ajel English stated that Netanyahu declared victory despite pending official results, Dawn noted that the 77-year-old prime minister was unusually brief and did not directly claim victory during a gathering in Jerusalem.

Donald Trump claimed on Truth Social that his endorsement of Netanyahu reversed a possible defeat, turning the situation into a stalemate or a win for the prime minister. According to Arutz Sheva - Israel National News, the Likud party received 28 seats, followed by Yashar with 21. Other seat counts included the Together Party and the Joint List with 11 each, the Democrats with nine, United Torah Judaism and Yisrael Beytenu with eight each, Shas and Otzma Yehudit with seven each, and the Religious Zionist Party-Zehut alliance with six. Ra am secured four seats.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Dawn, Arutz Sheva - Israel National News, Middle East Eye, Ajel English — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.