With Yisrael Beytenu's support, legislation preventing indicted MK from leading government will have majority in Knesset; secular, right-wing slate also pushes law for term limits

Yousef Makladeh says that many Arabs deserted Zionist parties for the alliance of Arab-majority factions, with party getting some 87% of votes cast by Arabs

Eyal Yinon says no new legislation may be submitted until parliament sworn in later this month, but Blue and White hadn't planned on lodging proposal before then

At meeting of right-wing chiefs amid failure to clinch majority, Netanyahu says planned legislation undermines democracy; Gantz: 'Bibi, drink a glass of water and accept results'

Results highlight geographical polarization, with some parts of the country giving a clear lead to PM's party and others opting, albeit underwhelmingly, for its centrist rival

Unclear if initiative will be backed by all opposition parties, which combined have Knesset majority; also unclear if it's technically possible during transitional government

Updated results from election committee leave Netanyahu's right-wing bloc at 58 seats, 3 short of Knesset majority, as double envelopes are tallied

Updated results from election committee see right-wing bloc drop to 58 seats; Gantz claims Netanyahu ordered his party to interfere with tally of so-called double envelope ballots

Centrist leader and others rule out joining a government headed by a premier on trial, amid rampant speculation of Likud contacts with potential 'deserters' to fill out coalition

After a decade of Netanyahu, many voters have grown accustomed to the PM's rhetorical gold standard. His challenger, with his repeated on-air bloopers, lags far behind