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

Final ballots being tallied with results expected to show no clear winnerHello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Israeli election.With 91% of votes now counted, the current results show prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc projected to receive 53 seats, with the grouping of his opponent Gadi Eisenkot on 48 and the Palestinian parties on track to receive a record 19 seats.The final tally of absentee ballots is not expected to significantly shift the results, and with no grouping managing to reach the 61 seats needed for a majority in the Knesset, Israel could be in for weeks of uncertainty, as both sides try to gather enough support to form a government.Yair Golan, the leader of the centre-left Democrats, a junior partner in Eisenkot’s bloc, has told Israeli media that he will meet leaders on Thursday for coalition talks. According to the Times of Israel, he will hold talks with Eisenkot, the leading opposition candidate and chair of the Yashar party, and Yair Lapid, the number-two in the opposition B’Yachad party.This would mark the official start of coalition talks, and Golan has been the only opposition leader so far backing working with the parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel.Leftwing protesters blocked roads in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening to demand a joint government of Palestinians and Jewish Israelis. Photograph: Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty ImagesIsrael’s president, Isaac Herzog, voiced hope that the country could avoid a second election. “We must do everything we can, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections,” said Herzog, who is tasked with determining which candidate to tap to form a government, urging parties to keep “an open mind”. Israel’s future hangs in the balance after it became clear that Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his governing majority. His political fate now depends on whether opposition Jewish parties are prepared to forge a common front with Palestinian parties, whose support surged in Tuesday’s historic elections. Indeed, Gadi Eisenkot and his allies face a clear choice: either make a pact with Arab Israeli parties heading for a record result of 19 seats, or hand Netanyahu a political lifeline in the form of new elections or a unity government. Yousef Jabareen, head of the Arab-majority Joint List, said the Israeli public had voted for new leadership and “anyone who wants to offer a substantive and genuine alternative to Netanyahu’s blood-soaked government will have to talk to us”. He told AFP that while he was willing to cooperate with an opposition-led government to unseat Netanyahu, he was not open to joining such a coalition outright. The ad hoc support of Palestinian lawmakers could enable Eisenkot to maintain a minority government, although few observers believe such an arrangement would survive for long. Israel’s Central Elections Committee said it had received a Likud party complaint alleging that Arab parties had compromised election integrity and would examine the claims as part of its routine post-election review. Netanyahu’s party responded to partial election results showing Arab-led parties could play a king-making role in forming a new government by accusing them – without evidence – of “stealing” the election and demanding that the police and Shin Bet security service investigate the allegations. UN rights chief Volker Turk has said that he hopes the next Israeli government will “change course massively” and respect international law. “The message is: don’t continue the current course of warfare where you think you are above international law, because I think that’s what we have frankly seen in the current environment,” Turk told reporters in New York. He added: “Israel has its obligations under international law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and they need to respect them, and I hope that the next government will do precisely that and change course massively.” Key events13m agoFinal ballots being tallied with results expected to show no clear winnerIsrael’s elections committee has said it began counting absentee ballots at 1am local time. That count is expected to last until Thursday evening, with an estimated 500,000 ballots from military personnel and diplomats to be tallied up.They are not expected to significantly change the results.A voter casts his ballot at a school used as a polling station during Israel’s general election in Tel Aviv. Photograph: David Goldman/APUnder Israeli electoral law, each voter is assigned a specific polling station and can only vote at that station. However in exceptional circumstances, some voters are allowed to cast their ballot at special polling stations they are not registered at. Among those afforded this exception are soldiers stationed at IDF bases, diplomats working abroad, prisoners and prison guards and people in hospital.These absentee ballots are transported directly to the Knesset where they undergo a series of checks before they are counted, which is why they arrive in the final count much later.Final ballots being tallied with results expected to show no clear winnerHello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the Israeli election.With 91% of votes now counted, the current results show prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc projected to receive 53 seats, with the grouping of his opponent Gadi Eisenkot on 48 and the Palestinian parties on track to receive a record 19 seats.The final tally of absentee ballots is not expected to significantly shift the results, and with no grouping managing to reach the 61 seats needed for a majority in the Knesset, Israel could be in for weeks of uncertainty, as both sides try to gather enough support to form a government.Yair Golan, the leader of the centre-left Democrats, a junior partner in Eisenkot’s bloc, has told Israeli media that he will meet leaders on Thursday for coalition talks. According to the Times of Israel, he will hold talks with Eisenkot, the leading opposition candidate and chair of the Yashar party, and Yair Lapid, the number-two in the opposition B’Yachad party.This would mark the official start of coalition talks, and Golan has been the only opposition leader so far backing working with the parties led by Palestinian citizens of Israel.Leftwing protesters blocked roads in Tel Aviv on Wednesday evening to demand a joint government of Palestinians and Jewish Israelis. Photograph: Mostafa Alkharouf/Anadolu/Getty ImagesIsrael’s president, Isaac Herzog, voiced hope that the country could avoid a second election. “We must do everything we can, certainly after yesterday, to avoid another round of elections,” said Herzog, who is tasked with determining which candidate to tap to form a government, urging parties to keep “an open mind”. Israel’s future hangs in the balance after it became clear that Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his governing majority. His political fate now depends on whether opposition Jewish parties are prepared to forge a common front with Palestinian parties, whose support surged in Tuesday’s historic elections. Indeed, Gadi Eisenkot and his allies face a clear choice: either make a pact with Arab Israeli parties heading for a record result of 19 seats, or hand Netanyahu a political lifeline in the form of new elections or a unity government. Yousef Jabareen, head of the Arab-majority Joint List, said the Israeli public had voted for new leadership and “anyone who wants to offer a substantive and genuine alternative to Netanyahu’s blood-soaked government will have to talk to us”. He told AFP that while he was willing to cooperate with an opposition-led government to unseat Netanyahu, he was not open to joining such a coalition outright. The ad hoc support of Palestinian lawmakers could enable Eisenkot to maintain a minority government, although few observers believe such an arrangement would survive for long. Israel’s Central Elections Committee said it had received a Likud party complaint alleging that Arab parties had compromised election integrity and would examine the claims as part of its routine post-election review. Netanyahu’s party responded to partial election results showing Arab-led parties could play a king-making role in forming a new government by accusing them – without evidence – of “stealing” the election and demanding that the police and Shin Bet security service investigate the allegations. UN rights chief Volker Turk has said that he hopes the next Israeli government will “change course massively” and respect international law. “The message is: don’t continue the current course of warfare where you think you are above international law, because I think that’s what we have frankly seen in the current environment,” Turk told reporters in New York. He added: “Israel has its obligations under international law, international humanitarian law, international human rights law, and they need to respect them, and I hope that the next government will do precisely that and change course massively.”