Netanyahu Appears To Pull Ahead as Israeli Election Hangs in the Balance

TEL AVIV — Exit polls in Israel show a rapidly evolving race as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc has pulled ahead of the Gadi Eisenkot-led opposition as of 4:51 AM Israel Standard Time. The Central Elections Committee reckons that with 32.5 percent of the ballot boxes counted the prime minister’s faction is expected to control 59 seats with the opposition at 46. Both fall short of the 61 seats needed for a majority in the Knesset. The final tally is expected to be announced in the early hours of Wednesday morning. A larger number of votes than ever from outside the country and remote army posts could shift the electoral map, and those results will not be published until Thursday. “You can see that the people of Israel want change, though the numbers now are very confusing,” the head of field strategy for former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s “Together” party, Zvi Plotnitsky, told The New York Sun. “The people of Israel don’t want Likud. They don’t want the leaders of October 7.” While early exit polls appeared to back up that sentiment, the latest numbers appear to indicate the enduring bond between the Israeli electorate and Mr. Netanyahu. Two Arab parties emerged as the biggest surprise of the exit polls. Perhaps spooked by some of Mr. Netanyahu’s partners, like internal security minister Itamar Ben Gvir, the Arab parties reached a record number of up to 18 seats. Mr. Eisenkot could be presented with a difficult choice — enter a governing coalition with the Arab parties or sign on to a unity government with the man he swore to replace.Mr. Eisenkot has hinted he could form a ruling coalition of 61 Knesset members from his 52-member bloc with the support of the Arab parties, whose members would be excluded from government positions. Mr. Netanyahu, on the other hand, has no such option. Mr. Eisenkot’s aides are also hinting they might lure in Likud defectors to support a Yashar-led coalition. Known worldwide as “Bibi,” the current Israeli leader first captured the premiership in June 1996. While he was forced out of the leadership for short periods since then, he has dominated Israel politics, serving a cumulative 19 years at the helm, longer than most democratic leaders. At the age of 77, he is also the oldest premier in Israel’s history. This article has been updated from the bulldog edition.

Netanyahu Appears To Pull Ahead as Israeli Election Hangs in the Balance

Netanyahu Appears To Pull Ahead as Israeli Election Hangs in the Balance

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