With almost five million votes counted, Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc fell to 53 seats and the opposition took 48, the Central Elections Committee announced on Wednesday morning.

Likud is projected at 26 seats and Gadi Eisenkot's Yashar at 21. Arab parties hold 19. The parties seeking to remove Netanyahu from power reach a combined 67 seats, leaving the prime minister's bloc eight seats short of a parliamentary majority, according to projections published by Middle East Eye.