No clear winner in Israel election with nearly 90 percent of votes counted

No clear winner has emerged from Israel’s election , with nearly 90 percent of ballots counted and both major political blocs falling short of the 61 seats needed to form a government. The Israeli Central Elections Committee said on Wednesday that it had counted more than five million votes as of 9pm local time (19:00 GMT). Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc is on course to win 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot is expected to secure 48 seats. Projections from Tuesday’s voting also showed that the Arab parties – the Joint List and Ra’am – could hold a record combined 19 seats. Final election results could come as early as Thursday evening, though no clear winner is expected to emerge.