Israeli Election Results Shift as 97.3% of Votes Counted

With 97.3% of votes tallied in Israel's Knesset elections, the final distribution of parliamentary seats remains fluid, leaving the formation of a future government uncertain. The Likud party has strengthened its position, gaining one seat to now hold 27 mandates, while the Shas party has lost one mandate. Despite these shifts, neither of the main political blocs has secured the 61 seats required for a majority. The latest update on October 29th at 14:55 incorporated an additional 65,968 votes. Following Likud, the "Yashar" party is projected to win 21 seats, and "Behad" ("Together") is expected to secure 12. The Joint Arab List is set to receive 11 seats, with "Democrats" and Ra'am each obtaining eight. National Unity, Yisrael Beiteinu, Otzma Yehudit, and Yahadut HaTorah are each projected to win seven seats. Two other political forces are expected to gain six seats each. The current governing coalition is projected to hold 53 seats, while the opposition bloc has 48 seats. Arab parties, including the Joint Arab List with 11 seats and Ra'am with eight, collectively hold 19 seats, potentially playing a crucial role in coalition negotiations. Several parties, including "Reservists and Economic Party" (2.69%) and "Amcha Yisrael" (1.65%), remain below the 3.25% electoral threshold and are unlikely to enter the Knesset. The remaining uncounted votes could still influence the final seat allocation, particularly for parties close to the threshold for an additional mandate. The primary political challenge remains the lack of a clear majority for either bloc, making post-election negotiations critical for forming a stable government. All published figures are preliminary, and final results will be confirmed after the counting is complete.