Netanyahu's Likud emerges as largest party in Israeli election, bloc edges past opposition

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Likud is largest party after Israel's election, Netanyahu's bloc edges ahead of opposition

Israelis voted on Tuesday in their highest numbers in decades, and early reporting on Wednesday shows Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud as the single largest party, with his bloc edging past the opposition. Netanyahu called the prospect of working with Arab parties to form a government "a disgrace and a shame". Official results are due on November 4.

• Exit polls on Tuesday indicated no clear winner; Al Jazeera now reports Likud as the largest party and Netanyahu's bloc narrowly ahead.
• Exit polls projected up to 18 seats for the Arab bloc, which celebrated record turnout. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot would have to cooperate with Arab-Israeli leaders to have a hope of governing.
• Polls show Itamar Ben Gvir's Otzma Yehudit lost seats, and he was defiant.
• On election day Netanyahu accused Arab citizens of trying to steal the elections, which the New York Times describes as a racial appeal to voters.