Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc fell behind an opposition alliance led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot in Tuesday’s parliamentary election, but neither side secured a majority, according to exit polls released Tuesday night by three major television networks.
Exit polls by public broadcaster Kan and commercial TV Channel 13 projected 53 seats for Eisenkot’s bloc against 50 for Netanyahu’s, while Channel 12 gave Eisenkot’s bloc 52 seats and Netanyahu’s 50.
Arab-majority parties, the Joint List and the Muslim Ra’am party, were projected to win 17 to 18 seats in the 120-member Knesset or parliament, potentially holding the balance of power. Both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have ruled out forming a governing coalition with the Arab parties.
With neither bloc reaching the 61 seats needed for a parliamentary majority, the results point to potentially prolonged coalition negotiations and political instability.
The exit polls are preliminary, with final official results expected in the coming days or even weeks.