Netanyahu's coalition draws ahead in Israel's tight election race

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition took a slight lead in a tight election race, defying exit poll projections, though he remained short of the numbers required to form another government.
Critics argued the results signaled voter disillusionment with Netanyahu’s leadership, but it was not clear the opposition bloc would be able to muster the support necessary to take power either.
Arab parties won a record number of seats and looked set to play the role of kingmaker, but both main alliances appeared reluctant to take the unprecedented step of working with them.
As a result, one longtime chronicler of Netanyahu argued, “the increasingly likely outcome is just another election.” Israel’s currency and benchmark stock index fell on the uncertainty.

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