JERUSALEM/RAMALLAH/GAZA – Israel's opposition parties secured 67 seats in the 120-member parliament, against 53 for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing bloc, according to a vote count of about 97 percent of the votes released by the Central Elections Committee on Thursday.
The opposition seats include 48 won by parties aligned with former military chief Gadi Eisenkot and 19 by Arab parties.
Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot has the 61 seats needed to form a majority government without the support of Arab parties.
The count of votes is expected to be completed later on Thursday but would be officially announced on Nov 4 after a review, the committee said.
Palestine expresses hope for dialogue with new Israeli gov't
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday he hoped the formation of a new Israeli government would create an opportunity to resume serious political dialogue and achieve peace in accordance with international law, according to Palestine's official news agency WAFA.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides in Nicosia, Abbas said Palestine attached great importance to achieving regional security and stability, including ensuring peace and security between Palestinians and Israelis, according to WAFA.
He stressed that the Palestinian side sought to achieve peace based on international law, relevant UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, and the principles of human rights.
Abbas reaffirmed the Palestinian leadership's commitment to "peaceful popular resistance" in response to Israeli measures, adding that it had repeatedly extended its hand to Israel over the years to pursue peace and enable both peoples to live in security, stability and peace.
He said he would discuss with Christodoulides the difficult conditions facing Palestinians amid continued Israeli attacks and violations in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
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The remarks followed Israeli parliamentary election results showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc winning 53 seats in the 120-member Knesset or parliament, with opposition parties taking 67 and the two Arab parties 19, according to a count of about 97 percent of votes released by the Central Elections Committee.
The vote was held amid the ongoing repercussions of the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct 7, 2023, the subsequent conflict in the Gaza Strip, and later confrontations involving Israel, Lebanon and Iran.
Also on Thursday, two Palestinians were killed and several others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a civilian vehicle in the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, according to local and medical sources.
Meanwhile, the Hamas-run government media office said that the toll from Wednesday's Israeli airstrike on a government post in southern Gaza rose to four dead and 30 wounded, including six in critical condition.
The Israeli army has not commented on the reported incidents.
Also on Thursday, Gaza's health authorities said 3,056 patients and wounded people had been evacuated for treatment abroad since the Rafah border crossing reopened in February, while about 21,468 remained on waiting lists for urgent medical travel, including 6,430 classified as high-priority cases.
