Published on •Updated
Exit polls in Israel’s key legislative election on Tuesday suggested no clear victor, with both Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and main rival Gadi Eisenkot falling short of a majority.
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Israel’s Channel 13 news initially projected the opposition bloc would have the edge with 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, with Netanyahu’s bloc set to win around 50. It later dropped the Eisenkot bloc to 52. Netanyahu’s Likud party would be the largest single party, with 25 seats, per the broadcaster.
Channel 12, another major pollster, also put the opposition bloc at 52 seats and Netanyahu’s at 50. It had the Likud party winning 24 seats.
Arab parties are projected to win a record 18 seats, according to the outlets.
In a post on X, Eisenkot said the exit poll results showed a “complete lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the October 7 government.”
Yair Golan, the leader of Israel’s left-wing Democrats party, added that the public had “spoken” and “ousted the Netanyahu government.”
But Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar warned that celebrations from the left were “premature.”
“One thing seems quite clear: The Likud is the largest party in Israel,” he wrote on social media.
Turnout for the election – Israel’s first since Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks – hit over 77%, according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee.
Netanyahu had spent much of the day calling on supporters to get out and vote, painting the election as a “matter of life and death.”
The vote is widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership.
This is a developing story. Check back here for further details.
