Absentee ballots hold the last word
Israelis waited on Thursday for the final count of an election that has left both camps short of a parliamentary majority. About 500,000 absentee ballots, cast by soldiers, diplomats, prisoners, hospital patients and other voters, were still being tallied. Election officials said the batch is unlikely to change the overall picture.
As it stands, neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies nor the array of parties campaigning to unseat him holds the 61 seats needed to control the 120-seat Knesset. That arithmetic leaves the country without an obvious coalition on either side.
Netanyahu stays in charge
Netanyahu remains prime minister while the negotiations play out, and his Likud party took the most votes of any single list. Likud has accused Arab-led parties of stealing the election and asked the election committee to investigate. The committee said the number of reported irregularities was low.
For voters, the standoff means months of uncertainty over the government that will handle security, the budget and the country's relationship with Washington.
Arab-led parties in an unfamiliar role
Arab-led lists had a strong night, and some Arab citizens broke long-standing vows never to vote. The Joint List spoke of an "unprecedented show of strength" and of Jewish voters "willing to swim against the tide of racism", adding that it was open to political cooperation.
In Tel Aviv, protesters sat down on a road to demand that Israel-Arab parties be included in the formation of the next government.
Gadi Eisenkot, the former military chief who is Netanyahu's chief rival, said in his first public statement since addressing supporters that a new government should serve all citizens and reflect the will of the people. He did not mention the prospect of joining forces with the Arab-led parties.
What happens next
Israel's president is due to task one candidate with forming a government next week. By tradition that is the leader of the largest party, but the law does not require it. President Isaac Herzog has signalled that he wants to avoid another trip to the polls, a position Eisenkot has also taken. If repeated attempts to build a coalition fail, Israelis would face a new election early next year.