Update / Elections in Israel - Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc wins 54 seats / Formation of the government remains uncertain

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc is expected to secure 54 seats in the new Knesset, the Central Elections Committee (CEC) announced on Wednesday, after four million votes had been counted, The Jerusalem Post reports.

Netanyahu's Likud party is projected to win 27 seats, according to some projections, while United Torah Judaism is set to win seven seats, Shas seven, Otzma Yehudit seven, and the Religious Zionism Party six.

The opposition bloc, which includes the Yashar, B’Yachad, Yisrael Beytenu and Democrats parties, is expected to secure 47 seats, according to the CEC.

According to the latest data from the CEC, Arab parties are expected to win 19 seats—13 for the Joint List Party and six for the Ra'am Party.

Sixty-one deputies are needed to form a majority.