Exit polls released after polling stations closed in Israel's general election yesterday showed that the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had lost its majority in the Knesset. The coalition that won 64 seats in the 2022 election and is conducting the war in Gaza fell to 50 seats. The opposition bloc led by former Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot took the lead in polls by Kan, Channel 12 and Channel 13, but failed to reach the 61 seats needed to form a government.
Exit polls by channel
- Kan (public broadcaster): Eisenkot bloc 53, Netanyahu bloc 50, Arab parties 17; Likud 25, Yashar 21;
- Channel 13: Eisenkot bloc 53, Netanyahu bloc 50, Arab parties 17; Likud 25, Yashar 23;
- Channel 12: Eisenkot bloc 52, Netanyahu bloc 50, Arab parties 18; Likud 24, Yashar 22;
- i24: Eisenkot bloc 49, Netanyahu bloc 55, Arab parties 16;
- Channel 14 (close to Netanyahu): Eisenkot bloc 43, Netanyahu bloc 60, Arab parties 17.
Although Likud remained the largest party on its own, it fell from the 32 seats it won in 2022 to 24-25 seats. Turnout reached 74.3% as of 8 p.m., the highest level recorded at the same time since 1988. Turnout was 70.6% in the 2022 election.
Opposition describes results as a “heavy defeat”
Eisenkot said the results reflected distrust in Netanyahu and the “October 7 government” and announced that he would work to quickly establish a “Zionist government” to replace the current one. Yashar supporters chanted “Bibi go home” at the polling station.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid said Netanyahu had suffered a “heavy defeat.” Democratic Party leader Yair Golan also said, “The people have spoken and removed the Netanyahu government from office. We have a historic opportunity to establish a real government of change in Israel, and we have no intention of giving it up.”
Netanyahu's last-minute push
In the final hours of the election, Channel 12 correspondent Amit Segal released a recording of a phone call between Netanyahu and a member of the Haredi community. In the recording, Netanyahu asks why Haredi voters did not go to the polls, saying, “Have they gone mad? Do they want a left-wing government here?” The other speaker says that promises made over military service for four years have not been kept and that Haredim “do not believe there is someone who will keep his word.” Netanyahu replies, “How can I reassure them in an hour and a half?”
Netanyahu targeted Arab voters throughout the day, warning of a “Mansur Abbas and Ahmad Tibi government” and claiming that an attempt was being made to “steal the election.”
Arab parties set a record
The Joint List and the United Arab List are expected to win a combined 17-18 seats. This would be the highest number ever reached by Arab parties in the history of the Knesset. Long lines formed in Arab communities throughout the day. In footage broadcast by Channel 12, an Arab party official told supporters that they were fighting to send home the “far-right government” of Netanyahu, Ben Gvir and Smotrich, called it a “government of blood,” and called for a just peace based on a Palestinian state within the 1967 borders.
Meanwhile, approximately 391,000 Palestinians living in occupied East Jerusalem were unable to vote because Israel does not count them as citizens.
What comes next?
The Central Elections Committee is expected to announce the final results in the coming days. President Isaac Herzog will then meet with the parties and task one person with forming a government. Netanyahu may remain at the head of the interim government while coalition talks continue.
