Exit polls in Israel’s general election indicated late Tuesday that the political bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot had emerged as the largest grouping in the Knesset, narrowly ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ruling coalition but short of a majority.
The main Israeli broadcast exit polls suggested Netanyahu’s Likud party would remain the single largest party in the 120-seat parliament. Arab Israeli parties were projected to win a record number of seats.
Polls closed at 22:00 local time (20:00 GMT) after a high turnout. Israel’s Central Elections Committee said national turnout stood at 74.3 per cent by 20:00 local time, with more than 5.4 million ballots cast — significantly higher than at the same stage of the 2022 election.
Official results were expected to begin emerging later in the evening, though an estimated 600,000 absentee ballots, mostly from military personnel, would not be fully counted until later in the week.
Israel’s president will eventually invite the party leader judged to have the best chance of forming a governing coalition. The process can take weeks and may require complex negotiations, as no party has ever secured an outright majority.
The election was Israel’s first legislative vote since the Hamas-led attacks of 7 October 2023. Security, military conscription of ultra-Orthodox men and judicial reform dominated the campaign.
