JERUSALEM (The Thursday Times) — Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies warned the opposition on Tuesday night that its celebrations were “premature”, after exit polls showed his Likud party losing ground and his bloc short of a majority in Israel’s election, while the far-right camp vented its anger at voters.
Exit polls by Channel 12 and Channel 13 projected 52 to 53 seats for the opposition bloc and 50 for Netanyahu’s, with Arab-led parties on 17 to 18 and 61 needed for a majority. Likud was projected to remain the largest single party with 24 or 25 seats, down from 32 in 2022, while Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party was projected to win around 21 to 23. These are exit polls, not results.
‘Premature’
“Likud is the largest party in Israel. It is always good to learn something from the past,” Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar wrote on social media, calling the opposition’s celebrations premature and criticising “biased commentators”.
Culture Minister Miki Zohar, also of Likud, warned rival leaders against relying on Arab-led parties. “If Eisenkot, Lieberman and Bennett try to form a government with the Arab parties, it will be the end of their political careers within a very short period of time,” he wrote on X. “The public will not forgive and will not forget.”
At the headquarters of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit, projected to win six or seven seats, an aide did not hide his frustration. “Obviously I’m disappointed, the people of Israel are stupid,” Ushar Gabai told reporters.
‘The right kind of change’
Benny Gantz, the former army chief who withdrew his Blue and White party from the race after polls showed it falling short of the threshold, said Israelis had chosen change. “It must be the right kind of change,” he wrote, urging the leaders of mainstream parties to form a unity government that “transcends political blocs” and avoids another election.
Ehab Jabareen, a political analyst, told Al Jazeera the projections showed “a clear weakening of Netanyahu’s bloc” but no clear route to a government that could replace him. “Netanyahu still has a very loyal base,” he said, “but that base on its own is no longer enough to deliver the majority he needs.” If neither side can form a government, Netanyahu stays on as caretaker.
Official results are expected by Wednesday evening. Read what happens next and our profile of Gadi Eisenkot.
