Islamabad, 28 October, 2026 (Ghufran): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc was leading its rival opposition alliance but remained short of a parliamentary majority on Wednesday after 66 per cent of the votes had been counted in the country’s crucial general election. According to the partial results, Netanyahu’s bloc had secured 54 seats in the 120-member parliament, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot had won 48 seats and Arab parties had secured 18 seats. The results may change as the counting continues. Voter turnout reached its highest level in decades as Israelis delivered their verdict on Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, whose government has pursued right-wing policies and launched military campaigns following Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have pledged to form a government despite neither bloc securing a projected majority. Exit polls had indicated a close contest, with both camps expected to win around 51 seats, falling short of the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority. Arab Israeli parties recorded significant gains, with their supporters turning out in large numbers to oppose Netanyahu’s political agenda. The partial results suggest that Eisenkot’s bloc could potentially secure a majority by forming a coalition with Arab parties, although several members of his alliance had expressed reluctance to pursue such an arrangement during the election campaign. However, Yair Golan, leader of Israel’s main left-wing party and a member of Eisenkot’s bloc, called for cooperation with Arab parties, saying Israel should no longer accept what he described as Netanyahu’s racist division between Jewish and Arab votes. The final political outcome will depend on the completion of the vote count and subsequent coalition negotiations.