Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would not be able to form a government, according to preliminary results from 97% of the regular polling stations reported by the Central Elections Committee unless he gains support from the Arab-Islamist Ra'am Party. 

Netanyahu's bloc of Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism and the Religious Party was found to have won 59 seats along with Yamina, two short of a majority. Ra'am's leader Mansour Abbas has collaborated in the past with Netanyahu and pro-Likud advocates are already working to legitimize the formation of a coalition with Arab support in the media. 

Abbas has justified working with Netanyahu and other Zionist parties if he can, in exchange, gain benefits for the Arab community which faces poor infrastructure, a growing murder rate and high unemployment.