Israeli voters ended a national election on Tuesday without producing a clear winner, according to exit polls from the country's major television networks, which put neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc nor the opposition led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot at the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.1,3,5
The polls projected 50 seats for Netanyahu's bloc, 52 to 53 for the opposition and 17 to 18 for the Arab parties. Axios said that if the results held, Eisenkot would have to try to form a minority government supported by the two Arab parties, and that it was unclear whether all of his political partners would agree to that. Exit polls are subject to potential error, and final results, expected in the coming days, may differ from them.3,5
The reports differ on how Netanyahu's showing compared with Eisenkot's. CBS said Likud emerged as the largest party but that Netanyahu appeared to have won fewer votes than his main challenger. Axios said Likud received one to two more seats than Eisenkot's Yashar party, and the headline of the New York Post said Netanyahu trailed Eisenkot. Axios also noted that Eisenkot's bloc outpaced Netanyahu's and that, because Israel has a parliamentary system, the bloc totals are what ultimately matter.1,3,2
The two Arab parties won more seats than in any previous Israeli election. Arab citizens make up about 20% of the population, and some Arab voters told CBS News that they had found the past period difficult under the government of Netanyahu. Both Netanyahu and his opponents have said they will not form a government reliant on Arab parties. Mansour Abbas, head of the Islamist Ra'am party, said while voting was still underway, "Our vote will change the government." Israel's national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, warned that "it will be Mansour Abbas' government" if Netanyahu and his allies did not win.1,5
Turnout was high. More than 74% of eligible voters had cast ballots by 8 p.m., the highest at that hour in decades and 8 percentage points above the 2022 election, according to the Central Elections Committee. Axios described turnout as reaching a three-decade high, and the New York Post headline said turnout was on pace for the highest in 50 years.5,3,2
The vote was the first national election since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Hamas. Israelis went to the polls with the country still fighting in a multifront war in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and after two direct rounds of conflict with Iran. Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, leads the Likud party. The Associated Press described the race as widely seen as a referendum on his nearly unbroken 17-year rule. Netanyahu faces an international arrest warrant over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza, allegations he denies.1,5
President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu last week and reiterated his administration's firm support for the war against Iran that the two men launched jointly almost eight months ago. Trump warned that he could be disinclined to continue with it if Netanyahu does not hold onto power. "If Israel has the wrong Leader, which would be anyone other than Bibi, America will have to do this work ourselves, and I am not inclined to do so," Trump wrote on Truth Social.1
Eisenkot, a centrist who leads the Yashar party, is the front-runner to lead the opposition bloc. He lost a son and two nephews who were serving in the military in Gaza, and he was part of Israel's war cabinet for much of the first year of that war, working alongside Netanyahu. Standing in a cheering crowd on election day, he called on all Israelis to vote to get rid of "the worst government Israel has known." He noted that victory was not certain, adding that "we are on perhaps the most critical day since the founding of the state."1,5
Netanyahu, who has told voters that operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran are ongoing and that he needs more time to finish what his government started, is projected to have shed 14 seats from the 64 his coalition won in the 2022 elections, according to Axios. Before the exit polls were released, he said, "This is a very moving and fateful moment." After voting, he told journalists that Arab parties "are receiving massive, truly massive, support. They are heading to the polls in unprecedented numbers." The Associated Press noted that he did not provide evidence for that claim, though turnout appeared to have increased significantly in Arab communities, according to Central Elections Committee data.3,5,1
Election-day problems included scattered allegations of irregularities and issues at polling stations. Netanyahu's Likud party petitioned to extend voting hours past 10 p.m., but the election commission ruled against it, saying there was no justification. Eisenkot had rejected the proposed extension and urged voters to ignore Netanyahu's "scare tactics." Dean Livne, acting director-general of the elections commission, said the number of complaints about irregularities and issues at polling stations was so far much lower than in previous elections.5
Once the results are finalized, President Isaac Herzog will task whichever lawmaker he deems most suitable with forming a government, and Netanyahu and Eisenkot are widely seen as the most viable candidates. If neither bloc wins a clear majority, parties or individual lawmakers could switch sides despite election promises, and negotiations could take weeks. The opposition bloc could seek a minority government with a plurality of seats, and Arab parties could enable it by voting for the government or abstaining. If no coalition can be built, the country would hold new elections. Israel held five elections between 2019 and 2022 because of electoral deadlock.4,1
Eisenkot said the exit poll results "point to an unequivocal lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the government responsible for Oct. 7, on the part of the Zionist majority and the majority of Israeli citizens. If these results hold, it will be a victory for Israel's Zionist, pro-state majority." He added, "I will act immediately to implement the people's verdict, replace Netanyahu's government, and establish a Zionist government committed to military service, as soon as possible."3
