Jerusalem [Israel], Oct 28 – Israel’s election has ended without a clear winner, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival Gadi Eisenkot both falling short of a parliamentary majority, according to early results.
With 48.4% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc was projected to win 55 seats while Eisenkot’s bloc was projected to secure 50 seats. Arab parties were projected to win the remaining 15 seats, Israeli media reported.
Both sides need at least 61 seats in the 120-member Knesset to form a government. Final results are expected by Thursday.
Netanyahu called for a “strong, right-wing national government” while Eisenkot said voters had rejected Netanyahu’s continued leadership and urged him to retire from politics.
The election, the first since the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, took place amid continuing divisions over security and the wars that followed. Voter turnout reached 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades, according to Israel’s Central Elections Committee.
