Five key takeaways from Israel’s parliamentary elections
Summary
Israeli television exit polls showed a close race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc and an opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot, with neither projected to reach the 61 seats needed for a Knesset majority. The article says voters considered Netanyahu’s leadership and his government’s response to the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks; official results were still pending and could differ from the exit polls.Key Facts
- Channel 12’s exit poll projected 52 seats for Netanyahu’s bloc and 49 for Eisenkot’s opposition bloc.
- Channel 13’s earlier exit poll projected 51 seats for each bloc.
- The polls projected Likud as the largest single party, with about 27 seats, compared with 21 for Eisenkot’s Yashar party.
- Arab parties were projected to win 19 seats collectively.
- Israeli voters elect parties, which then form coalitions; a governing majority requires 61 of the Knesset’s 120 seats.
- Eisenkot said the vote signaled a desire for change, while Netanyahu called for a right-wing government and said his bloc had a majority.
- Bezalel Smotrich said his party was projected to win seven seats and pledged to continue expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank.
- The exit polls were unofficial; preliminary official results were expected the following day.
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