Netanyahu bloc finishes in lead but no majority: Official results

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's camp finished ahead of the opposition but remained well short of a parliamentary majority, according to final results from Israel's general election released early Friday.

Netanyahu's coalition of right-wing and far-right parties won 53 of the Knesset's 120 seats, with his Likud party remaining the largest single faction with 27 seats.

The opposition bloc, led by centrist Gadi Eisenkot, secured 48 seats.

The results from the Central Elections Committee also confirmed a dramatic breakthrough by Arab groupings Raam and the United Arab List, which together won 19 seats and could emerge as kingmakers in coalition talks.

The two parties were targeted by unproven election-fraud allegations circulated by Netanyahu's camp on Thursday.

Politicians and media reports claimed the parties were suspected of receiving Qatari funds to finance vote-buying.

The Arab parties and Qatar denied the allegations, while Eisenkot accused Netanyahu of seeking to "delegitimise" the election results.

Israel's Shin Bet domestic security agency said it was investigating suspected irregularities but added it was not intended to "cast aspersions or place blame on an entire sector that went out to vote in a democratic and lawful manner."

Without directly referring to the allegations against the Arab parties, the electoral commission said Thursday that some information that had circulated was entirely unfounded.

The investigation is continuing alongside the process being conducted by the Central Elections Committee. It will have no impact on the final results to be submitted to the president, it said.

The final results will be formally presented on Wednesday to President Isaac Herzog, who will then begin consultations with party leaders before tasking one of them with trying to form a government, the commission said.

The absence of a majority bloc points to potentially difficult coalition negotiations that could last for weeks.

If no government can be formed, Israel could face another election, as it has several times in the past.

AFP