News analysis
Israel’s election exit polls: Netanyahu risks losing power, while Arab parties win a record 17 seats
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Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot waves Israel's national flag at the election night rally after the first exit polls were announced, in Tel Aviv, on Oct 28.
PHOTO: AFP
- Likud is projected to win 25 seats, but Eisenkot’s opposition bloc is projected to win more combined and be better placed to form the next government.
- Israel’s Arab citizens are the true net winners, with record turnout driven by anger at discrimination and far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, and about 17 MPs elected.
- Eisenkot’s bloc has an estimated 55 seats, short of a majority. He could lead a minority government if Arab parties agree not to vote it down.
AI generated
LONDON – Exit polls from Israel’s general elections indicate that Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, won’t be able to retain power.
While Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party remains Israel’s biggest political formation and is projected to get 25 seats in the next 120-seat parliament, the opposition parties grouped around Gadi Eisenkot, a former top Israeli military commander, are expected to win more seats overall, and therefore seem better placed to form the next government.