Israel: No Majority Emerges from Parliamentary Election

Vote counting continues after Israel’s parliamentary election, with no bloc projected to hold a majority. Israeli media projections give Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc 53 seats, opposition parties 48 and Arab-led parties 19, with nearly 500,000 ballots still to be counted. The Israeli president is expected to task a candidate with forming a government next week; without an agreement among parties, another election could be held early next year. The vote was shaped by security concerns and international criticism over Gaza and settler violence in the occupied West Bank.