Benjamin Netanyahu is set to remain Israel’s caretaker prime minister after an election without a clear winner. Dawn, citing Reuters and AFP, notes that with nearly 86% of votes tallied on Wednesday, his bloc of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties was projected at 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, against 48 for rival Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc.

Neither alliance reaches the 61-seat majority. Parties representing Arab citizens of Israel were projected at a record 19 seats, leaving the opposition little realistic path to power without their broad backing — backing many Jewish political leaders reject.

Results can still change as counting continues; full results were expected by Thursday evening or Friday morning. In the meantime Netanyahu remains caretaker during coalition talks and potentially until another election. Guy Lurie of the Israel Democracy Institute says a caretaker government formally has the same powers, but also a “duty of restraint”.

Netanyahu called for a “strong, right-wing national government” and spoke of a chance for joint military action against Iran with US President Donald Trump. Eisenkot acknowledged Netanyahu remains caretaker but warned he might use security for political ends and urged institutions to stand firm against such pressure.

The prospect of a government without a parliamentary majority weighed on markets: the shekel weakened and Tel Aviv indexes fell more than 3%. Turnout was high (77.7%), including among citizens of Palestinian descent; President Isaac Herzog will decide who first gets the mandate to form a coalition.

This article follows the post-election stage and caretaker status, not election day itself. Source projections remain provisional until final official results; no new government has been formed yet.

Image: Knesset, Jerusalem (Wikimedia Commons).

Sources consulted: Netanyahu set to remain caretaker prime minister after inconclusive Israeli election - Dawn; The Latest: As Israel counts votes, no clear winner - AP News.