With 57.3 percent of ballots counted, there is great uncertainty in Israel about who will form the next government.
According to the results so far, the bloc of current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has 55 seats – five more than exit polls predicted. Meanwhile, the bloc against him, led by Gadi Eisenkot, currently has 49 seats – four fewer than exit polls predicted.
Arab parties have achieved a historic result, taking 16 seats. They are expected to be decisive for the new government.
To form a government, at least 61 votes are needed in the 120-seat Knesset in Israel.
Following the result, Netanyahu has spoken out against the agreement with the Arab parties. Perhaps he intends to take parties from Eisenkot's bloc.
As a single party, Netanyahu's Likud leads with 27 MPs.
About 600 votes from voters who did not vote at regular polling stations, almost all from members of the military, accounting for about 10 percent of the total vote, are expected to be fully counted by Thursday.
Once the counting is complete, the Israeli president will hold consultations with all political groups and then entrust the mandate to form a government to the leader he believes is most likely to secure the necessary parliamentary support.
The process of forming a governing coalition could take several weeks.
