The surprise winners and (probable) losers in the race

As of now — and possibly through Thursday — it remains unclear whether several small parties will cross the electoral threshold of 3.25%. And we won’t know until all the votes are in precisely how the 120 Knesset seats will be distributed among the parties.

But Israel has nonetheless been hit with several surprises tonight.

The first is the unexpected success of the Shas party, which had previously been polling at 4-5 seats. The results, however, suggest it will win as many as eight Knesset seats, and — should Netanyahu form the coalition — could become the second-largest party in the government.

Another is the poor showing of the “dark horse” Zehut, which pre-election surveys had said could receive as many as 10 Knesset seats. It now appears unlikely to win any.

The center-left Labor Party, which governed the country in the first three decades of its existence, appears set to receive just 4% of the vote.

And most shocking of all is the humbling showing for the New Right, which is currently 0.1% from the threshold, leaving the political fortunes of former senior ministers Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked up in the air.