Israelis on Thursday waited for final election results to confirm what they see taking shape: No majority of parliament seats for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies, or for the array of parties seeking to unseat him.

Difficult decisions lie in the weeks ahead, including whether some Jewish and Arab parties would team up in a historic alliance, or whether some parties that campaigned on ousting Netanyahu would toss that aside and join forces with the deeply divisive prime minister. While this plays out, Netanyahu remains in charge.

Final results could come as early as Thursday evening after about a half-million absentee ballots are counted from military personnel, diplomats, people in prisons and hospitals, and others.…