In Israel, the bloc of parties led by the Likud of outgoing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu currently has, with more than 50% of the votes counted, a majority of seats (55) but not enough to be able to govern without alliances : 61 seats are needed to control the Knesset.
The opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot follows with 49 seats. The Arab parties currently hold 16 seats, 12 of which were won by the Joint List: a remarkable result, which could make the third bloc the deciding factor. Yousef Jabareen, chairman of the Joint List, stated: "In any political scenario, they cannot ignore us."
For his part, Netanyahu overnight called for the formation of a "right-wing" and "strong" government. "The Jewish and Zionist majority must recover and unite," he added, opposing any "government supported by Israeli Arabs."
(Radiocor)
