Israel election leaves blocs short of a majority

Provisional projections in Israel’s election put Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc at 53 seats and the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot at 48, leaving both short of the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority. Arab-led parties were projected to hold 19 seats, making their potential role in coalition talks central as vote counting continued on Thursday. The projections, based on partial counts, were not final results. About half a million absentee ballots remained to be counted, including ballots from military personnel, diplomats, people in prisons and hospitals, and others. Election officials expected the count to be completed by Thursday evening and said the absentee ballots were not expected to change the results dramatically. Netanyahu remains in office as caretaker prime minister while parties consider whether they can assemble a government. President Isaac Herzog was expected to ask someone to form a government the following week. The president is not required to choose the leader of the party with the most seats. Eisenkot, a former military chief, has left open the possibility of working with Arab-led parties under conditions, including recognition of Israel...