Tel Aviv, 28 October (H.S.): Israel appears headed for a political stalemate, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc nor the opposition alliance seeking to oust him projected to secure a majority in Tuesday’s general election, according to exit polls.

Exit polls released by Channels 11, 12 and 13 indicated that neither side had reached the 61 seats required for a majority in the 120-member Knesset, Israel’s parliament. Following the projections, opposition leaders claimed victory, while Netanyahu had yet to comment publicly on the results.

According to reports by *The Jerusalem Post* and *The Times of Israel*, the opposition bloc, comprising Yashar, B’Yachad, Yisrael Beiteinu and The Democrats, was projected to win between 50 and 53 seats. Netanyahu’s bloc was expected to secure around 50 seats. The projections suggested that neither camp had an obvious route to forming a coalition government, although the opposition declared its victory soon after the exit polls were released.

The exit polls projected Netanyahu’s Likud party to emerge as the largest single party in the Knesset. Arab-led parties were also expected to win a record number of seats, potentially giving them significant influence over post-election coalition negotiations.

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the centrist Yashar party and the principal figure in the opposition bloc, pledged to take immediate steps to “carry out the will of the people” and establish a Zionist government committed to compulsory military service for all. Netanyahu had not issued a public response to the projections at the time of reporting.

Once the final results are announced, President Isaac Herzog will consult representatives of the parties elected to the Knesset before deciding which candidate is best placed to form the next government. The process could involve prolonged negotiations, given the absence of a clear parliamentary majority.

Meanwhile, Yair Golan, leader of the left-wing Democrats party, said his bloc was prepared to work with all its partners to form a government.

“The people have spoken. They have voted the Netanyahu government out of power,” Golan wrote on X.

Channel 12’s exit poll projected that the opposition bloc would win 52 seats, compared with 50 for Netanyahu’s bloc. The Arab-led parties were projected to secure a combined 18 seats, although their role in any potential coalition remains uncertain.

Political analysts have also raised the possibility of a minority government, depending on the final distribution of seats and the support that either side can secure during negotiations.

According to Israel’s Central Elections Committee, voter turnout stood at 77.7 per cent as of 10 p.m. on Tuesday, with 5,695,682 citizens having cast their ballots. The figure was substantially higher than the 70.6 per cent recorded at the same time during the 2022 election and represented the highest turnout at that hour since 1999.

The turnout figure was considered close to final, although voting continued beyond the scheduled closing time at polling stations where people were still waiting in line. Polling stations were scheduled to close at 10 p.m.

Meanwhile, the October Council, an organisation representing families affected by the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and their aftermath, called on the incoming government to establish a State Commission of Inquiry into the failures surrounding the attacks on the very first day of its term. The organisation has pressed for an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the attacks and the government’s handling of the crisis.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar