Politics

Exit Polls Show Tied 51‑Seat Split Between Netanyahu and Eisenkot Blocs

By Al Jazeera Staff

Updated exit poll figures broadcast by Israel’s Channel 13 showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud‑led coalition tied at 51 seats with the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot in the 120‑seat Knesset. Despite the narrower figures, opposition leaders declared the result a defeat for Netanyahu’s government. Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party and a former military chief of staff, told supporters after voting closed that the initial projections indicated a “complete lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the October 7 government,” according to AFP. Yair Lapid, an opposition leader, said in a statement, “Don’t let anyone confuse you: the Netanyahu bloc has suffered a crushing defeat. This is a total collapse and the public has told them to go home.” Under the updated figures, unaligned Arab parties were expected to hold 18 seats, leaving both major camps 10 seats short of the 61 required for an absolute majority. Supporters at Eisenkot’s watch party in Tel Aviv cheered the projections as voter turnout reached 77.7 percent, according to the Central Elections Committee. Senior figures in Netanyahu’s camp pushed back against the opposition declarations, saying the final results could shift the balance. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, a key Netanyahu ally, dismissed the opposition statements as “premature,” writing on social media that Likud remained the largest single party in parliament. Leaders of Arab political factions highlighted their potential role in upcoming coalition negotiations. Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List (Ra’am), told reporters, “We will transform the mandate we received into a new reality in the country.” At the Joint List alliance headquarters in Nazareth, candidate Faten Gattas told supporters that high participation among Palestinian citizens of Israel aimed to block the return of Netanyahu’s nationalist coalition. “We refuse the occupation and racism, and we will remain here,” Gattas said, according to Reuters. With neither camp reaching a governing majority, analysts suggested smaller parties would be key deciders as formal coalition talks begin in the coming days.