Jerusalem Post

The opposition bloc, comprising Yashar, B’Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu, and the Democrats, is expected to enter the Knesset with 48 seats, according to Central Elections Committee data.

When British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband announced new measures against Israeli settlements on September 8, he insisted that Britain was not trying to influence Israel’s election.

"We must do everything, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections," Israel's president said. "Therefore, I expect everyone who comes here to arrive with an open mind."

If Eisenkot had won the battle of the blocs and, in a head-to-head with Netanyahu, as the polls forecast, he might have been able to start forming a government before the US midterm elections.

With 85.6% of the vote counted, Hendel’s Reservists-Economic Party has received roughly 2.6% of the general vote, leaving them about 100,000 votes shy of the 3.25% threshold.

Washington Institute experts warn that the economic campaign on Iran needs stronger international sanctions coordination and counterterrorism cooperation to disrupt Iran's financial networks.

With neither bloc securing a clear majority, Netanyahu, Bennett and Golan each claimed victory by defining the electorate differently, exposing divisions over who counts.

"When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned, and now, rather than a decisive defeat for a Great Prime Minister, it looks like a big come-from-behind stalemate, or even a WIN.

The 3.25% threshold is the minimum percentage of the national vote a party needs to win to be allocated any seats in the next Knesset.

The projections would give the two parties combined either 18 or 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with their five seats each in the outgoing parliament.

Neither party has committed to joining only a Netanyahu-led coalition, and Shas’s spiritual leader has indicated that he would be open to joining a government led by Eisenkot.

“The Likud is Israel’s largest party,” Netanyahu said, claiming the right-wing bloc had decisive support among Jewish and Zionist voters and supporters of the Jewish state.

Likud announced that it would submit hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence to the Israel Police, Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and the Central Elections Committee.

With neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot securing a parliamentary majority, Israel faces three possible outcomes: an opposition coalition, a unity government, or another election.

Israeli election exit polls project eight seats for Yair Golan's Democrats, potentially more than doubling the party's parliamentary representation as coalition negotiations loom.