Votes were being counted as dawn broke in Israel on Wednesday morning, but exit polls suggested that its momentous national election left no clear winner.
That likely meant the beginning of weeks of wrangling among parties to form a governing coalition and declare a new prime minister. In the meantime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains as interim caretaker head of the government.
Exit polls released by major Israeli TV stations right after polls closed on Tuesday night and revised overnight indicated that neither Netanyahu’s political bloc nor that of his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, secured the 61 seats needed for a majority in the parliament, known as the Knesset.
Israelis vote for parties, which then form alliances to create a majority coalition. No single party has ever won a majority.
But the inconclusive result comes as the country remains deeply divided over Netanyahu's leadership and scarred by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and the wars that have since shaken the Middle East.
Here is the latest:
Mixed reactions to Israeli elections in the occupied West Bank
A headline in one Arabic-language newspaper in the occupied West Bank says: “Arabs bring down Netanyahu.”
However, votes are still being counted and emotions are mixed after a significant showing by Arab-led parties.
Palestinians in the West Bank had no vote on Tuesday, but they watched as Israel’s Arab citizens did.
“The Israeli elections will not change anything," said Khaled Shawar al-Tamimi in Hebron. "The two major parties, Yashar and Likud, are two sides of the same coin.”
But Fahed Ahmro from Hebron hoped for “a government of law that lifts the injustice that has befallen us over the past three years or during the previous regime of this oppressive and unjust government.”
Oman's top diplomat warns Israel over Iran
Oman’s foreign minister says that whoever is chosen as the next Israeli leader, they should “leave Iran alone” and focus on finding a just resolution to the Palestinian question.
With tensions high in the region over the possibility of renewed American or Israeli attacks on Iran, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi told Britain’s Channel 4 News on Tuesday that he hoped Iran and the United States would return to the negotiating table.
“I don’t know really what is now expected out of Iran,” al-Busaidi said, adding that in his mind, the issue of Iran’s nuclear program had been resolved based on what he had heard from the Americans, and that “the facilities have been bombarded and everything has been eliminated.”
Israelis who flew home to vote have mixed feelings about the inconclusive results
Some Israelis who flew thousands of miles to vote in their country said they’re dismayed that after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack, so many voters could still support Netanyahu.
“I’m disappointed,” said Tamar Ichilov, who flew in with her partner from Toronto.
If no candidate is able to form a coalition government and there’s another election, she’ll fly back again.
Others, like Eti Wissotzky-Cohen, were more hopeful. The 44-year-old who settled last year in Britain with her family to get away from Israel’s wars said the initial polls show there is no alternative but to include Arab parties in the government. “This would open the door to repairing our society and building a just and equal society, while preserving Israel as the national home of the Jewish people,” she said.
Iran remains a question
Lost for the moment in the focus on vote-counting is the unsettled issue of further strikes against Iran.
There remain concerns among some analysts and others in Israel that Netanyahu could press for strikes and try to rally other political leaders into a unity government.
Eisenkot in his speech early on Wednesday warned Netanyahu “not to use Israel’s security for your political needs” while he is a caretaker prime minister.
Iran’s government has not commented on Israel’s election since the polls closed.
No statements this morning from top candidates
There’s been no public word from Netanyahu or Eisenkot as it approaches noon in Israel.
They were up into the early morning hours addressing supporters. The two rivals and their teams, like the rest of Israel, are also trying to make sense of the results as vote-counting continues. Final results lie ahead, perhaps as early as Thursday.
Voters wrestle with the Arab issue
Hanna Doukhan, a voter in Tel Aviv, said she feels “the country is pretty stuck.”
“We are little by little coming to a situation where we have to face reality," she said. "I don’t see a possibility to form a government without the Arabs.”
But some called that a difficult thing to consider after decades of friction.
“A peace won’t be between Muslims and Jews. Never,” said another voter in Tel Aviv, Artsi Wine, who nevertheless acknowledged that “we have to find a way to live together.”
60% of votes have been counted
With 60% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s Likud party has 21.4% and Eisenkot’s Yashar has 16.2%, according to official election data.
The count released on Wednesday morning from Israel’s Central Elections Committee does not indicate how many seats each party will win in the parliament.
Israelis face difficult questions around the strong Arab vote
With Arab parties’ strong showing in the election and the possible implications of that in forming a new government, Israelis are facing a debate as strong as their morning coffee.
An analysis in the left-leaning Haaretz news outlet indicated an important moment for any political grouping that considers itself democratic.
“A situation in which Israel’s Arab citizens go to great lengths to participate in a political arena that relentlessly strives to exclude them, only to be met with another slap in the face, bodes poorly for the future of the bloc that styles itself as ‘democratic,’” it said.
Attention will turn to Israel’s president
Israel’s president’s role is largely ceremonial, but not once election results come in.
President Isaac Herzog soon must choose the person he believes is best placed to form a government and set them to work. That person usually is the head of the party with the most votes.
Netanyahu’s Likud has the most votes with half of them counted, but tasking the party with the most votes is not required.
And some in Israel might argue that considering how sharply polarizing his government has been, another choice might help in the coalition-building period ahead.
Israel’s military says there was an almost 80% turnout among its personnel
Hundreds of thousands of votes cast by members of Israel’s military have yet to be counted, but the military says turnout among its ranks was 79.9%.
That’s up by more than six percentage points from the previous election. Some polling stations had been set up in combat areas.
A guard shoots and kills attacker armed with knives outside Israel's Embassy in Serbia
Serbian police say that an unidentified assailant attacked a guard with knives outside the Israeli Embassy in Belgrade and was killed early on Wednesday.
Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dacic says police are treating the incident as a “terrorist attack” and have raised the terror threat to the highest level and stepped up police presence at key locations.
Dacic said the attacker was a minor and had two knives. He attacked the guard, shouting Allahu Akbar, or "God is great" in Arabic.
He added that the police officer “liquidated” the assailant in “self-defense” and was lightly wounded.
Trump says he heard Netanyahu 'did pretty well'
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday disputed the notion that Netanyahu may be heading toward defeat as exit polls indicated no clear winner in Israel’s elections.
“I’m hearing that he did very well,” he told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, after returning from a pair of campaign rallies in Texas. “I actually heard he did pretty well.”
Trump cautioned that it was a “little bit early” and said he has not yet spoken with Netanyahu about the results. Trump endorsed Netanyahu late in the campaign, while Netanyahu stressed his close ties with the White House in his election night speech.
Netanyahu slams Arab parties and touts the Iran war in election night speech
Addressing exuberant supporters past 3 a.m. Wednesday morning in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said that exit polls indicate his Likud will be the largest party in the next parliament. He listed Israel’s military accomplishments over the past three years and pledged to finish the job against Iran’s regime.
In a message aimed at his rivals, he said no government should be formed that relies on Arab parties.
Arab-led parties had a strong showing in Tuesday’s election and could be kingmakers if, as exit polls indicate, Netanyahu’s bloc and his opponents are tied and both unable to form governing coalitions.
Both main blocs cheer supporters after inconclusive results
In a sign of the uncertainty ahead, the mood at both Eisenkot's and Netanyahu’s headquarters was celebratory. In a speech early Wednesday in Tel Aviv that focused on national unity, Eisenkot pledged to form a government and promised “a new era — an era of hope” for Israelis.
“Today, Israel went out to a referendum over the leadership that will lead Israel in the coming years,” Eisenkot said to cheers from supporters. “The people decided in favor of change.”
