Fwd from @ Netanyahu go ahead 60 percent of the polls have been counted The count in Israel defies all yesterday's predictions. More than half of the ballots have been counted, and exit polls predicting an opposition victory are fast becoming obsolete - the electorate of the ruling coalitions seems more mobilized so far. However, the Israeli pendulum is just beginning to swing, and it is too early to draw final conclusions. Netanyahu's "Likud" increased to 28 mandates and confidently beat its main rival "Yesh Atid" led by Eisenkot, which dropped to 21. Then comes "Talem" led by Bennett-Lapid with 11, the joint Arab list with 12, the Golan "Democrats", "United Torah Judaism" and Libermans "Israel Beitenu" with 8 each, "Shas" and Ben-Gabirs "Otzma Yehudit" with 7 each, Smotrichism "religious" and rage, Smotrichs "religious" and rage. With an unexpectedly low 4, barely clearing the parliamentary bar. Total: Netanyahu's bloc reaches 56 mandates, while Eisenkot's opposition wins 48. Almost half of the polling stations remain to be counted, and there are entire cities where nothing has been held yet, including Kfar Saba and Ra'anana, as well as Arab settlements such as Rahat, Sakhnin and Kfar Kasem, which will surely return some mandates to the Arab lists. In addition, the Central Election Commission still needs to count military "double envelopes" on Thursday. This time, 79.9% of military personnel voted - about 6% more than in the previous elections. These votes could reshape the fate of several seats at once. If the trend of gaining seats for the Netanyahu bloc continues, he, as the head of the largest party, will receive the first right from the President of Israel to form a cabinet. That's when the real intrigue begins, since the ruling coalition lacks the votes, and there is nowhere to get them. Arabic lists do not.

Fwd from @ Netanyahu go ahead 60 percent of the polls have been counted The count in Israel defies all yesterday's predictions. More than half of the ballots have been counted, and exit polls predicting an opposition victory are fast becoming obsolete - the electorate of the ruling coalitions seems more mobilized so far. However, the Israeli pendulum is just beginning to swing, and it is too early to draw final conclusions. Netanyahu's "Likud" increased to 28 mandates and confidently beat its main rival "Yesh Atid" led by Eisenkot, which dropped to 21. Then comes "Talem" led by Bennett-Lapid with 11, the joint Arab list with 12, the Golan "Democrats", "United Torah Judaism" and Libermans "Israel Beitenu" with 8 each, "Shas" and Ben-Gabirs "Otzma Yehudit" with 7 each, Smotrichism "religious" and rage, Smotrichs "religious" and rage. With an unexpectedly low 4, barely clearing the parliamentary bar. Total: Netanyahu's bloc reaches 56 mandates, while Eisenkot's opposition wins 48. Almost half of the polling stations remain to be counted, and there are entire cities where nothing has been held yet, including Kfar Saba and Ra'anana, as well as Arab settlements such as Rahat, Sakhnin and Kfar Kasem, which will surely return some mandates to the Arab lists. In addition, the Central Election Commission still needs to count military "double envelopes" on Thursday. This time, 79.9% of military personnel voted - about 6% more than in the previous elections. These votes could reshape the fate of several seats at once. If the trend of gaining seats for the Netanyahu bloc continues, he, as the head of the largest party, will receive the first right from the President of Israel to form a cabinet. That's when the real intrigue begins, since the ruling coalition lacks the votes, and there is nowhere to get them. Arabic lists do not.