Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is leading Israel's partial Knesset election count with a projected 27 seats, but neither major political bloc has secured the 61 seats needed to form a government.

According to election tracker The Petek, Likud leads with 27 seats, followed by Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar party with 21 seats. Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid's B'Yachad alliance and the Joint List are tied at 12 seats each, while the Democrats are projected to receive eight.

United Torah Judaism, Otzma Yehudit, Yisrael Beiteinu and Ra'am are each projected at seven seats. Shas and the Religious Zionism–Zehut alliance stand at six seats apiece.

The projections place Netanyahu's right-wing and religious bloc at 53 seats, the Eisenkot-led Change bloc at 48, and the Arab parties at a combined 19 seats.

Chareidi Parties Await Final Results

For the Chareidi community, attention remains focused on Shas and United Torah Judaism, which are projected to hold a combined 13 seats.

United Torah Judaism, representing Agudas Yisrael and Degel HaTorah, is projected to retain its seven seats, while Shas, led by Aryeh Deri, could fall from the 11 seats it won in 2022 to six.

The outcome could significantly affect the Chareidi parties' influence in coalition negotiations, particularly regarding the yeshiva draft issue and legislation affecting Bnei Torah.

Coalition Uncertainty Continues

Despite Likud's lead, Netanyahu's bloc remains eight seats short of a majority. Opposition parties also face challenges in forming a government, with the projected 19 seats held by the Joint List and Ra'am potentially influencing coalition calculations.

The Petek's partial-count graphic shows 5,092,038 votes counted out of an estimated 5,799,345. Additional ballots, including special double-envelope votes, could still change the final seat distribution.

Counting is expected to continue Thursday, October 29, while official final results are expected on November 4.

All seat figures remain provisional projections based on the partial count, not certified election results.