Israel counts last votes as Netanyahu’s majority firms up

By TIA GOLDENBERG
Associated Press

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Israeli election officials are tallying the final votes from national elections, with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looking likely to reclaim the premiership with a stable majority backed by far-right allies. A last-minute surprise was still possible. A small dovish group could sneak past the electoral threshold needed to enter parliament and hold back the size of Netanyahu’s majority. But the likelihood was small, and members of Netanyahu’s expected coalition were already jockeying for portfolios in what will be Israel’s most right-wing government. Israel held its fifth election in four years on Tuesday, Some 90% of ballots were counted by Thursday morning and final results could come later in the day.