Jerusalem: With over 84 per cent of the votes counted, Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-religious bloc on Wednesday seems all set to make a dramatic comeback to power.
The exit polls projected pro-Netanyahu parties may win up to 65 seats in the 120-member Parliament. The alliance comprised Netanyahu’s Likud party, Religious Zionism/Jewish Power, Shas and United Torah Judaism.
The Central Elections Committee has so far counted 4,081,243 votes, with 24,201 invalidated, The Times of Israel newspaper reported.
Based on the current count, Netanyahu’s bloc would pick up 65 seats, though this number may change as more ballots are processed, the report said.
Israelis voted on Tuesday for an unprecedented fifth time in four years to break the political impasse that has paralysed the country.
The left-wing Meretz party is currently a hair short of the 3.25% vote minimum needed to win Knesset representation, with 3.2%.
The opposition Arab Balad party is also closing in on the threshold with 3.05% of total votes.
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