- Israeli election exit polls show extremely tight race.
- Neither Netanyahu nor Eisenkot bloc secured majority seats.
- Eisenkot claimed victory amid record 77.7% voter turnout.
- Official vote count began, final government remains uncertain.
Israel’s general election remained too close to call, with exit polls showing a tight contest between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and the opposition camp led by Gadi Eisenkot. Two polls projected the rival blocs to win an equal number of seats, while a third placed Netanyahu’s camp marginally ahead.
The exit polls indicated that neither side had secured the 61 seats required to form a majority government in the 120-member Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Official results began trickling in from midnight local time, although the counting process could take several days.
The projections also suggested that Netanyahu’s Likud party would emerge as the largest single party in parliament. However, the closely matched bloc figures left the question of which camp could form the next government unresolved.
Exit Polls Show Rival Blocs Locked In Tight Contest
Israel’s Kan 11 and Channel 13 news networks projected both blocs to win 51 seats each. Channel 12’s revised exit poll put Eisenkot’s bloc on 50 seats and Netanyahu’s camp on 52.
Channel 12 had earlier projected a slight lead for the anti-Netanyahu bloc before revising its figures. The differing estimates underscored the uncertainty surrounding the election outcome, with neither camp projected to reach the majority threshold.
Eisenkot, who leads the newly formed Yashar party, is a central figure in the opposition’s so-called change bloc. The alliance brings together opposition parties with the shared objective of ending Netanyahu’s tenure as prime minister.
Eisenkot Claims Victory As Supporters Cheer
Eisenkot arrived at his party headquarters in Tel Aviv and claimed victory as supporters cheered. He described the election as a turning point for the country’s political leadership.
“We made history,” Eisenkot said, adding that voters had effectively held a referendum on who should lead Israel in the coming years. He claimed the public had voted for change and against the continuation of Netanyahu’s term.
Eisenkot also argued that the high turnout made another election undesirable. “It is our duty, and my personal responsibility, to do everything to respect the will of the people,” he said.
Vote Counting Begins After Record Turnout
Israel’s Central Electoral Committee began releasing official results, with 2.5% of votes reported as counted at one stage. A separate update from the committee put the number of tallied votes at 2,670, representing almost 0.1% of the total.
The early figures were too limited to establish the final distribution of seats, leaving the exit polls as the initial indication of the contest between the two blocs.
Turnout stood at 77.7% when polling stations closed at 10 pm local time, or 8 pm GMT, the committee said. A total of 5,695,682 people had voted by that time, marking the highest turnout recorded at the corresponding point since 1999.
The final result will determine whether Netanyahu’s camp can retain power or whether the opposition bloc can assemble the parliamentary support needed to form a government.
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