INTEL: Israel exit polls show Netanyahu and Eisenkot blocs level, neither with a majority

Update (28 Oct 2026): An updated television poll now shows Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc level with Gadi Eisenkot’s camp. Earlier exit polls had put Eisenkot’s bloc ahead. Neither side is projected to reach a majority.

Neither Netanyahu’s far-right coalition nor Eisenkot’s Yashar-led bloc is on course to win a majority in Israel’s parliamentary election, according to exit polls first cited by the Financial Times. The figures are preliminary and vote counting is still under way.

What the latest projections show

Likud remains the largest single party, projected at 27 Knesset seats in the latest television update. An Israeli television exit poll gave Eisenkot’s Yashar party 22 seats. The same report put turnout at 77.7%.

The exit polls project strong results for smaller parties. The Joint Arab List is shown with up to 18 seats, and Otzma Yehudit with six. When first published, the polls showed Eisenkot’s bloc winning more seats than Netanyahu’s coalition. The updated poll removes that gap.

Mansour Abbas said he hopes to reach 61 seats and form a government. That is his stated aim, not a projection from any poll.

It is still unclear which party leader the president will task first with trying to form a government. Weeks of coalition negotiations are likely.

Reactions to the first exit polls

Eisenkot said the first exit polls showed a “complete lack of confidence in Netanyahu” and pledged to work to replace his government as soon as possible. Benny Gantz said the public had chosen change and that it should go in the right direction. Israel’s public broadcaster said the preliminary results indicated Netanyahu was the biggest loser. Those comments came before the updated poll showed the two blocs level.

Exit polls are not final results, and seat counts can shift as ballots are tallied. That has happened more than once in Israeli elections.