The Israeli opposition bloc, led by former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot, held a narrow edge over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition, according to exit polling released Tuesday night, after polls closed in an election widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership.
Neither bloc had a majority in any televised exit polls, leaving unclear the trajectory of the coming weeks’ coalition negotiations. The Arab parties appear likely to win a record number of seats in the Knesset, with exit polls showing them winning 17-18 seats — far more than the 10 they currently hold.
In the Channel 13 exit poll, Likud received 25 seats in the Knesset, while Eisenkot’s Yashar had 23. The opposition bloc received 53 seats and the bloc supporting Netanyahu had 50, a significant drop from the 64 seats his bloc won in 2022.
