JERUSALEM. Israelis went to the polls on Tuesday in an election widely billed as the most consequential in the country’s history, and exit polls suggest neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, has a clear path to a governing majority.
Projections from the main Israeli networks put Netanyahu’s bloc and the bloc led by Eisenkot’s Yashar party at 51 seats each in the 120-member Knesset, short of the 61 needed to govern. Arab parties were projected to take 18 seats, giving them potential leverage, although both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have ruled out partnering with them.
Turnout was the highest since 1999. The Central Elections Committee said 77.7 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots, more than 5.69 million of roughly 7.33 million, and it rejected a request from Netanyahu’s Likud party to extend voting hours.
The campaign was seen largely as a referendum on Netanyahu’s handling of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks and the wars that followed in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.
Opposition figures claimed victory, with Democrats leader Yair Golan saying voters had “fired the Netanyahu government”. Foreign Minister Gideon Saar countered that the opposition was celebrating prematurely and that Likud remained the largest party. If no coalition can be formed, Netanyahu would stay on as caretaker while negotiations continue.
— LRTVS News Desk
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