Israel election result shows no overall majority as vote count complete

Vote counting is complete in Israel’s elections with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition winning a majority in parliament, Israeli media have said. As the provisional results were being published on Thursday, opposition politicians met to explore options for a coalition. With more than 99 percent of Tuesday’s ballots tallied, Netanyahu’s bloc held 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot secured 48 seats, Israeli outlet Haaretz reported. The Arab list parties, meanwhile, held a combined 19 seats, it added. Both Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition parties fell short of securing the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.