As supporters cheered at watch parties in Tel Aviv and political leaders traded sharp reactions, exit poll projections in Israel revealed a deeply fractured parliament with no clear winner. Updated figures broadcast by Israel’s Channel 13 and reported by Al Jazeera showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led coalition tied at 51 seats with the opposition bloc led by challenger Gadi Eisenkot.

According to Al Jazeera, opposition leaders insisted the result was a defeat for the government despite the narrow exit poll figures. Gadi Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party and a former military chief of staff, told supporters that the initial projections showed a "complete lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the October 7 government," as reported by the AFP news agency. Opposition leader Yair Lapid added in a statement that the Netanyahu bloc had suffered a "crushing defeat" and a "total collapse."

Meanwhile, according to Al Jazeera, senior figures in Netanyahu’s camp pushed back against these declarations. Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister and a key Netanyahu ally, dismissed the opposition statements as "premature" on social media, noting that Likud remained the largest single party in parliament.

Al Jazeera reported that unaligned Arab parties were expected to hold 18 seats under the updated figures, leaving both major camps 10 seats short of the 61 required for an absolute majority. Voter turnout reached 77.7 percent, according to the Central Elections Committee cited by Al Jazeera.

Background

According to Al Jazeera, the election developments followed a campaign that saw high participation among Palestinian citizens of Israel, with candidate Faten Gattas telling supporters at the Joint List alliance headquarters in Nazareth that their vote aimed to block the return of Netanyahu’s nationalist coalition, as reported by Reuters. Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List (Ra’am), told reporters that his faction would transform the mandate received into a new reality in the country. Al Jazeera noted that voter turnout reached 77.7 percent according to the Central Elections Committee.

Why it matters

For international observers and readers following global parliamentary politics, closely contested elections and hung parliaments highlight the critical role of smaller parties and coalition negotiations in shaping governance and legislative stability.

What's next

According to Al Jazeera, formal coalition talks are set to begin in the coming days, with political analysts suggesting smaller parties will be key deciders as neither camp reached a governing majority.