Israeli exit polls show deadlock, setback for Netanyahu — SkimNews
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- Eisenkot’s bloc held a two-seat exit-poll lead over Netanyahu’s Likud-led camp, 52-50 in projections from Israel’s three major networks; final results were pending.
- Israel recorded 77.7% turnout, its highest in more than two decades and about seven percentage points above the 2022 election, in its first vote since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
- Yohanan Plesner called the exit polls a major defeat for Netanyahu’s coalition, whose projected seat count fell from 68 in the outgoing Knesset to about 50, while he said Eisenkot was not a clear winner.
- Eisenkot had all but ruled out forming a government that included the 18 seats allocated to unaligned Arab parties, complicating his bloc’s path to a majority.
- Joint List candidates celebrated historic turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel and said they hoped high Arab participation would let Arab parties play a decisive role in preventing Netanyahu’s far-right coalition from returning.
- Channel 14 projected 60 seats for Netanyahu and his allied parties, compared with the three-network projection of about 50 for Netanyahu’s camp, as final results remained pending.
Why it matters: Exit polls put Netanyahu’s bloc at about 50 seats, down from 68 in the outgoing Knesset, so Eisenkot’s two-seat lead does not deliver a working majority. The 18 seats for unaligned Arab parties matter because no party has ever won 61 of 120 outright; coalition arithmetic remains decisive.
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