Netanyahu’s bloc projected to win 56 seats as Israeli election count nears 50%

As more than half of the votes have been counted in Israel's general election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is narrowly ahead of rival Gadi Eisenkot, according to Channel News Asia. Daily Times reports that Netanyahu’s political bloc is projected to capture 56 seats in the 120-member Knesset, which remains five seats short of the 61-seat threshold required for a governing majority.

Free Malaysia Today reports that after 51.8% of ballots were counted, Netanyahu's bloc was shown to have 55 seats, while Eisenkot's opposition bloc held 49 seats and Arab parties held 16. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have vowed to form a government despite neither being projected to win a majority.

Addressing supporters in Jerusalem, Netanyahu called for a strong right-wing government and urged the Jewish and Zionist majority to unite, according to Free Malaysia Today. Egypt Independent reports that Netanyahu issued an emergency appeal for supporters to vote for the Likud party, warning that there are attempts to "steal" the election.

He characterized the arrest of three individuals in southern Israel, described as senior financial officials within the United Arab List and found with envelopes of cash, as a "criminal matter." Netanyahu also noted higher voter turnout rates among the Arab community in the south compared to the Jewish community.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Moneyweb, Channel News Asia, Free Malaysia Today, Egypt Independent — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.