After 90% of the votes cast in yesterday's general election in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud, which the exit polls indicated would have a four-five seat lead over Benny Gantz's Blue & White, is still ahead, by 36 seats to 32.. Of the votes counted so far, Likud has 29.35%, and Blue & White has 26.34%. The Joint Arab List has 12.90%, Shas 7.79%, United Torah Judaism 6.20%, Labor-Gesher-Meretz 5.71%, Yisrael Beitenu 5.87%, and Yamina 5.05%. Otzma Yehudit has failed to surpass the minimum vote percentage to win any Knesset seats.
The result so far means that the right-wing block consisting of Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Yamina will have 58 to 59 Knesset seats out of 120, with Likud on 36 seats. The picture is not yet final, however, with 10% of ballot boxes still to be counted. On the basis of the count so far, Blue & White has 32 seats, and the Joint Arab List 15, a result that, if it remains stable as the vote proceeds, represents a success for the Arab parties, and indicates that Israeli Arabs are increasingly exercising their right to vote for the Knesset.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on March 3, 2020
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