Israel Election Results: Exit Polls Show No Bloc Winning a Majority as Eisenkot Claims Victory

Israel’s election has ended without a clear winner, according to exit polls and partial unofficial results. Neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor challenger Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc has reached the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

What the exit polls show

The exit polls put Netanyahu’s bloc at 50 seats, down sharply from the 68 seats his coalition held in the last Knesset. Eisenkot’s bloc is projected at 52 to 53 seats. Arab parties have won a record 17 to 18 seats, making them pivotal to any government, even though both blocs have largely ruled out governing with them.

Netanyahu’s Likud remains the largest single party, with 24 to 25 seats, ahead of Eisenkot’s Yashar at 21 to 23 seats. Eisenkot has claimed a complete victory and said he will act immediately to replace Netanyahu’s government. Opposition leaders called the result a crushing defeat for Netanyahu’s bloc, while Netanyahu’s camp disputed the projections.

Record turnout, slow count

Turnout was 77.7 percent, the highest since 1999. Counting could stretch into Friday because of the large number of absentee ballots, so these figures are projections that can still shift. They are not the final count.

What happens next

What happens next is a long coalition process. President Isaac Herzog will consult party leaders and ask one candidate to try to form a government. That candidate gets 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. If no government is formed, the mandate can pass to another leader, and if that also fails, Israel could face another election, with Netanyahu staying on as caretaker.

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