Netanyahu and Eisenkot’s blocs go head-to-head with neither side having a clear path to a Knesset majority, according to final polls • Nearly 80% of IDF troops voted in 2026 Knesset elections
Initial voting results gave his political bloc a 53-50 or 52-50 lead over the Netanyahu bloc according to Channels 11, 12, and 13, even as Netanyahu edged Eisenkot in head-to-head competition.
With Likud emerging as the largest party but Gadi Eisenkot's opposition bloc ahead in the initial exit polls, the president faces a difficult decision over who should be given the first opportunity.
The results put B’Yachad broadly in line with pre-election expectations, although its projected support remained well below the 24 seats Yesh Atid won independently in the November 2022 election.
The projections would give the two parties combined either 18 or 19 seats in the 120-member Knesset, compared with their five seats each in the outgoing parliament.
Yisrael Beytenu, led by Avigdor Liberman, is projected to win 7 to 8 seats in the next Knesset, exit polls suggested on the evening of October 27 in Israel.
Israeli election exit polls project nine seats for Yair Golan's Democrats, potentially more than doubling the party's parliamentary representation as coalition negotiations loom.
Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit party added former Likud MK Gotliv to its slate, while RZP ran in a technical bloc with Zehut, led by Moshe Feiglin, in an effort to help clear the electoral threshold.
The memory of October 2000 has not faded, but it has been overtaken by the reality of the past four years, under a government that has done far more than neglect Arab citizens.
Both Shas and UTJ are part of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political bloc, and their combined seat total could prove crucial in determining whether he can secure a 61-seat majority.
Netanyahu, Eisenkot blocs still deadlocked despite coalition lead • Arab parties predicted to reach combined seat total of 16-19, complicating efforts to form coalition
