Final Israeli election results could boost Netanyahu's lead

JERUSALEM – Israel is hours away from announcing the final results of this week's election, while the nationalist New Right party, led by Education Minister Naftali Bennett and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, is still fighting for its political life.

Results tricking out of Israel's Central Elections Committee on Thursday show the two pro-settler ministers are tantalizingly close to crossing the 3.25% electoral threshold needed to get into parliament. Final results are expected later in the day.

Making it into parliament would grow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's majority even larger. Bennet and Shaked split from their religious-nationalist Jewish Home party hoping to present a hard-line alternative to Netanyahu that could draw in new secular voters.

Their maneuver decidedly backfired, and the New Right had one of the most disappointing performances of the election.