Israel’s election ends without a clear winner as exit polls leave both blocs short of a majority

Israel’s general election has produced no clear winner. Exit polls broadcast by the country’s major television stations after voting closed on Tuesday night projected 52 to 53 seats for the opposition led by former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, 50 seats for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc, and 17 to 18 seats for Arab-led parties.

Neither main bloc reached the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset. Final results are expected over the coming days and may differ from the exit polls.

A record turnout

More than 74% of eligible voters had cast ballots by 8 p.m., according to the Central Elections Committee — the highest turnout at that hour in decades and eight percentage points above the 2022 election. More than seven million people were eligible to vote, including around 330,000 young Israelis voting for the first time. Tens of thousands of voters travelled from overseas.

Likud asked for voting to be extended beyond 10 p.m.; the election commission rejected the request.

Rival claims

Before the exit polls, Netanyahu called the vote “a very moving and fateful moment.” After voting, he said Arab parties were “receiving massive, truly massive, support,” without offering evidence. Later in the night, according to The Times of Israel, he claimed his right-wing bloc had won a “decisive majority” among the Zionist public and said he planned to form a right-wing government. Eisenkot had urged him to accept defeat and step down.

“We are on perhaps the most critical day since the founding of the state.” — Gadi Eisenkot, on election day

Eisenkot, whose son and two nephews were killed in Gaza, campaigned against what he called “the worst government Israel has known.”

Why it matters

This was Israel’s first national election since the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, and it was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership during the war and on his nearly unbroken 17-year rule. Netanyahu faces an ongoing corruption trial and an international arrest warrant over alleged crimes in Gaza, both of which he denies.

No party has ever won an outright majority in Israel’s fragmented parliament. Arab-led parties, which represent communities making up about a fifth of the population, could become kingmakers — but both main blocs have so far refused to partner with them. An inconclusive outcome could mean weeks of coalition negotiations, or another election.

What happens next: once results are certified, the president consults party leaders and asks the lawmaker seen as most likely to form a government to try. Read our explainer on how Israel forms a government.