Israeli President Herzog faces choice of who to tap as prime minister after election

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Likud emerges as largest party as Netanyahu's bloc edges past opposition after election

Israelis voted on Tuesday in the highest numbers in decades. Al Jazeera's takeaways say Likud is the single largest party and Netanyahu's bloc edges past the opposition, though exit polls had earlier shown no clear winner. President Isaac Herzog, whose role is largely ceremonial, must now choose a candidate to form the government. Official results are due on November 4.

• Exit polls projected as many as 18 seats for the Arab bloc, which celebrated record turnout; the opposition under Gadi Eisenkot would need to cooperate with Arab-Israeli leaders to have a hope of governing.
• Netanyahu called a coalition with Arab parties 'a disgrace and a shame', after accusing Arab citizens on election day of trying to steal the elections, which the New York Times describes as a racial appeal.
• Polls show Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit lost seats, and he was defiant.
• Observers pointed to risks to the vote including AI-generated content and officials who have suggested results could be rigged.