TEL AVIV, Israel — Israelis turned out in exceptionally high numbers Tuesday for the country’s first national election since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre, with initial exit polls showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud emerging as the largest party but his governing coalition falling short of a parliamentary majority, potentially opening the door to a change in leadership. The projections released by Israel’s three major television networks after polls closed at 10 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET) showed Likud winning 25 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, compared with 23 seats for former Israeli military chief Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party in Channels 12 and 13 exit polls, and 21 seats according to Kan 11.
The projected parliamentary balance showed 50 seats for Netanyahu’s right-wing and religious bloc, 53 for the main opposition parties and 17 for Arab parties, leaving neither major bloc with the 61 seats generally needed to form a government. Although Netanyahu’s party is projected to remain the largest in parliament, his political future is far from secure. The opposition parties, together with the Arab factions, would hold a combined 70 seats, although that does not mean they would necessarily agree to form a government together.
FORMER ISRAELI ARMY CHIEF GADI EISENKOT EMERGES AS NETANYAHU’S LEADING ELECTION CHALLENGER The results set the stage for potentially weeks of coalition negotiations, with the possibility that Netanyahu could lose power despite Likud finishing first. The results are preliminary projections, not an official vote count, and could change as ballots are tallied in the coming days. The election followed an extraordinary day at polling stations across Israel, with long lines and voter participation reaching levels not seen in decades.
Israeli voter turnout surged to a historic high, with 55.7% of eligible voters casting their ballots by 4 p.m. local time (10 a.m. ET), according to Israel's Central Elections Committee. The figure marked the highest turnout recorded at that hour since measurements began in 1973, underscoring the intensity of the country's national election.
The unusually high participation prompted election officials to streamline voting procedures and assure voters that anyone arriving at a polling station before the 10 p.m. deadline would be allowed to cast a ballot. The vote was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu's leadership following three years of war and continuing questions about responsibility for the security failures that allowed Hamas terrorists to kill approximately 1,200 people and abduct 251 others on Oct. 7, 2023. JD VANCE DECLINES TO ENDORSE NETANYAHU DESPITE TRUMP'S STRONG BACKING Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, campaigned on his record of confronting Iran and its regional proxies, highlighting Israel's military achievements and his relationship with President Donald Trump.His opponents accused him of failing to accept responsibility for the October 7 security failures and opposed his government's approach to investigating the failures that preceded the massacre.
Throughout the final hours of the campaign, Netanyahu, Eisenkot, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and other party leaders mounted an intensive effort to mobilize supporters and win over undecided voters. Netanyahu's Likud party prepared hundreds of targeted campaign videos and social media messages, making digital outreach a central part of its last-minute election strategy. Eisenkot's campaign pushed supporters to rally behind Yashar as the leading alternative to Likud, while Bennett traveled between cities and engaged voters directly and through WhatsApp conversations.
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