Jerusalem:Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc is projected to win 56 seats in the 120-member Knesset, falling five seats short of a governing majority. This projection comes as 49.7% of the votes have been counted in Israel's parliamentary elections.

According to Anadolu Agency – English, the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot is projected to secure 49 seats, while predominantly Arab parties are expected to win the remaining 15 seats. Neither major bloc is anticipated to reach the 61 seats needed to achieve a parliamentary majority.

The Arab parties could play a crucial role in the formation of the government. Their combined 15 seats would enable Eisenkot's bloc to achieve a majority of 64 seats, should they decide to support it. Among the individual parties, Netanyahu's Likud is leading with a projected 27 seats, while Eisenkot's Yashar follows with 21 seats.

The Together alliance and the predominantly Arab Joint List are each projected to win 11 seats. Meanwhile, the Democrats and United Torah Judaism are expected to secure nine seats each. Yisrael Beiteinu is projected to obtain eight seats, with Shas and Otzma Yehudit estimated to win seven seats each. Religious Zionism is projected to secure six seats, and the United Arab List (Ra'am) four seats.

As vote counting continues, these results remain provisional and are subject to change.