Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was poised to clinch a clear electoral victory Wednesday morning, with some 95 percent of votes showing his Likud party tied with Blue and White, but the right-wing bloc with a clear lead and Netanyahu possessing a clear path to forming a governing coalition.
With more than four million votes counted as of 8 a.m., Likud had snagged 26.27% of the vote, or 35 seats in the 120-seat legislature — the party’s best result since the 2003 election (when it won 38 seats under Ariel Sharon), and its best under Netanyahu.
Meanwhile Likud’s main rival in the election, the Blue and White party led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid, won 25.94% of the vote, which would also give them 35 seats.
In actual numbers, only some 14,000 votes separated the two biggest parties.
No other party appeared to break double digits in number of seats.
With five right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties managing to get some 32 seats together, though, Netanyahu seemed set to be able to form a government similar to his current right-wing coalition, with a solid 65 seats.
On the other side of the fence, four left-wing and Arab parties combined for just 20 seats, seemingly putting them in the opposition with Blue and White, pending coalition jostling.
Coming in at a surprising third and fourth places were the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, with 6.10% (8 seats) and 5.90% (8 seats) respectively.
Fifth was the predominantly Arab Hadash-Ta’al with 4.61% or six seats.
The historically dominant Labor Party crashed to sixth place with 4.46% (six seats), the party’s worst showing in its 71-year history.
With five seats each were Yisrael Beytenu (with 4.15%) and the Union of Right-Wing Parties (3.66%).
Meanwhile Meretz (3.64%), Kulanu (3.56%) and Arab party Ra’am-Balad (3.45%) had four seats each.
WarSclerotic 
April 10, 2019 at 4:20 PM
Hamas calls Israeli election outcome irrelevant
A senior Hamas leader dismisses the outcome of Israel’s election as irrelevant, as near-final results show that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc has won a clear majority in the Knesset vote.
“All parties are faces of one coin, the coin of occupation,” says Khalil al-Hayya.
He said there was “no difference” between the Israeli parties, and pledged that Gaza’s jihadist rulers — who are committed to Israel’s destruction — would continue seeking to “end the occupation and achieve our national goals.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-april-10-2019/
Peace or pieces that is the question .