Israel election: record turnout, but Netanyahu and Eisenkot appear deadlocked
Exit polls from Israel's parliamentary election show a near-tie between the blocs of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and challenger Gadi Eisenkot. Turnout reached 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades.
Israelis voted in a parliamentary (Knesset) election on Tuesday, and exit polls after voting closed point to a deadlock between longtime Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot. It is the first election since the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and the wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran that followed.
The Central Elections Committee reported turnout of 77.7%, the highest in more than twenty years and about seven percentage points above the 2022 vote.
What the polls show
Updated exit polls on Israel's three major TV networks give Eisenkot's bloc 52 seats and Netanyahu's Likud-led camp 50. The remaining 18 seats go to Arab parties not aligned with either side. Eisenkot, who leads the Yashar party, has all but ruled out governing with them, which complicates his route to a majority. Some outlets, including the pro-Netanyahu Channel 14, project that Netanyahu's parties will win 60 seats. Final results could take days.
No party has ever won 61 seats outright in the 120-seat Knesset, so coalitions are the norm. A stalemate could still help Netanyahu, who might stay on in a caretaker capacity while parties negotiate.
Reactions and background
Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, described the polls as a major defeat for Netanyahu's coalition, which held 68 seats in the outgoing Knesset and is now projected at about 50. He added that Eisenkot is not a clear winner and could attempt a minority government. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said the Netanyahu bloc had suffered a crushing defeat.
Eisenkot, 66, lost a son and two nephews in the Gaza war. He entered politics four years ago, joined Netanyahu's war cabinet and quit eight months later, criticising the prime minister's leadership. He opposes Palestinian statehood and says Hamas' military wing must be destroyed or dismantled.
Netanyahu, 77, has been prime minister for nearly 19 of the past 30 years. He faces corruption charges, which he denies, and campaigned on an endorsement from US President Donald Trump.
