Israeli election exit polls show race headed toward stalemate
Summary
Israeli election exit polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party as the largest, but neither his bloc nor the opposition appears to have enough seats to form a government. Both sides may struggle to build a coalition, while Arab parties made historic gains in parliament.Key Facts
- Israel’s Knesset has 120 seats, and a government needs majority support.
- Exit polls projected that voters had rejected Netanyahu’s coalition, even as Likud led among individual parties.
- Israel’s two Arab parties won more seats than in any previous election.
- Netanyahu and opposition leaders had pledged not to rely on Arab parties to form a government.
- This was Israel’s first election since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023.
- Israel was still engaged in fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, and had faced two direct rounds of conflict with Iran.
- Former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the centrist Yashar party, was identified as a leading figure in the opposition’s change bloc.
- President Donald Trump endorsed Netanyahu and said he might not continue U.S. involvement in the war with Iran if Netanyahu lost power.
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