Israel election results live: count of absentee ballots under way as coalition talks set to begin

With the final count unlikely to shift results significantly, experts say Gadi Eisenkot’s hopes of unseating Benjamin Netanyahu rest on his willingness to work with Palestinian parties

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Israel’s left-leaning newspaper Haaretz has published an editorial calling on the country’s opposition bloc to form a government with the Palestinian parties.

With the combined number of Knesset seats for Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc and the grouping of Palestinian parties projected to be 67, the paper writes that Netanyahu’s government has “lost substantial support since the last round of elections.”

The figures clearly point to an unprecedented achievement by the Arab community, which voted en masse for political partnership with Jews. Despite the challenges and reservations about voting, and amidst a particularly racist incitement campaign, a record 19 Knesset seats loudly and clearly declare: We are an inseparable part of this country.”

This would be a slap in the face to the citizens who went to the polls in droves to vote for integration.”