Neither side reaches 61 seats after Israel vote

Neither side cleared the bar on Tuesday: exit polls from Israel's major TV networks put Binyamin Netanyahu's governing bloc and the opposition grouping led by former general Gadi Eisenkot at about 51 seats each, short of the 61 needed for a majority. With roughly a third of ballots counted, Israel's Central Elections Committee put Likud at 28 seats and Eisenkot's party, Yashar, at 21, and noted those figures are expected to move as the count proceeds. Israel's system can shift seat numbers on fractions of a percentage point.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, spoke to cheering supporters at 3am local time about assembling a coalition. "We must put in place a strong government of the right," he said. "The Jewish and Zionist majority must unite." He has said it is "out of the question" to have a government backed by Palestinian parties.

Eisenkot addressed supporters in Tel Aviv earlier in the evening. "People decided in favour of change," he said, adding that Netanyahu should have "announced today his retirement from politics". Yair Lapid, a former prime minister and opposition figure, said: "Netanyahu's bloc has suffered a crushing defeat. This is a total collapse. The public has told them to get out."

Turnout reached 77.7 per cent among more than seven million eligible voters, the highest since 1999 and up about 9 per cent on the previous election, according to the source figures. The campaign drew a record participation rate among Israeli citizens of Palestinian origin, who make up about 20 per cent of the country's population. Exit polls predicted Palestinian parties could win about 18 seats, up from 10. Eisenkot has said Arab-led parties do not meet Zionist criteria to govern.

The election came as Israel faces accusations of genocide in Gaza and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the West Bank. Netanyahu is wanted by the international criminal court for alleged war crimes and is on trial on corruption charges he denies. He has also faced domestic blame for a lack of preparedness for the Hamas attacks of October 7th, 2023, which killed 1,200 Israelis. Since then, Israel has devastated Gaza and killed more than 74,000 Palestinians, fought Hizbullah in Lebanon, occupied new territory in Syria and launched a war with the US against Iran.

Netanyahu and other parties asked the Central Elections Committee to keep polling stations open past the 10pm deadline; the request was refused. Netanyahu had suggested publicly that efforts were being made by the "left and Arabs" to steal the election, a claim the committee rejected. Reports also noted tens of thousands of Israelis living abroad arriving in recent days to vote, including people still landing at Ben Gurion airport on Tuesday.

Exit polls are revised after publication and final counts have previously swung by several seats. Between 2019 and 2022, Israel held five elections.