Netanyahu bloc edges ahead in Israeli vote count, but without a Knesset majority

A count that turned after the exit poll

Israelis voted in parliamentary elections on 27 October 2026, and by the morning count on 28 October the picture had shifted. Polls had pointed to a win for Eisenkot for weeks, and the exit poll that evening seemed to confirm it. With 85 percent of the votes counted, however, Netanyahu's bloc stood at 53 seats and Eisenkot's at 48. Israel has never produced a single party with its own majority, and neither bloc has one in the Knesset this time.

Netanyahu bloc53

Eisenkot bloc48

Netanyahu bloc

53 seats

Eisenkot bloc

48 seats

Data from the article text

Netanyahu, who has served as prime minister three times since 1996, still leads the largest bloc, but the margin leaves him short of a governing majority. Analysts and commentators on the ground agree that the outcome is open and depends on who can assemble a coalition.

Likud's last push and a campaign built on opposition

Likud itself was uncertain until the end. On the evening of the vote the party tried to keep polling stations open longer, kept campaigning to the last moment, and few supporters turned up at its election night gathering. Eisenkot's bloc ran mainly on opposition to Netanyahu rather than on a clearly defined alternative. Security dominated the campaign, the first national election since the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, and many Israelis still see Netanyahu as the security figure, despite Eisenkot's background as a senior military officer and former army chief.

Arab parties as the clearest winners

The Arab parties were the winners of the election, though they received less attention than the contest between the two blocs. Arab citizens make up about one-fifth of Israel's population, and their turnout, historically low, rose sharply. The totals differ by source: NOS puts the Arab parties at 19 seats, more than ever before, while Trouw gives a provisional 17, up from ten. Trouw names the Joint List and Ra'am as the two parties that did better than before. Several Arab parties have said they are willing to serve in a government, a prospect that worries some traders who fear an Eisenkot coalition built with them.

Voices from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem

At the Hatikva market in southern Tel Aviv, a butcher who did not want to give his surname said the election had been the last chance to remove Netanyahu. His fear now is that Eisenkot could govern with an Arab party. At Chacho's café in the centre of Tel Aviv, Rod Eilley (61), who meets friends there every morning, said he was despairing. Tens of thousands of expats had flown to Israel to vote against Netanyahu, and Arab voters queued for hours, yet the opposition did not win a majority. In Jerusalem, taxi driver Samuel Cohen (61) voted for Netanyahu, as his father and grandfather did before him, and said he was nervous about a government of Eisenkot with Arab parties. Retired activist Louis Frankenthaler, also from Jerusalem, felt cautious optimism because of the strong Arab vote, while expecting Netanyahu to keep power.

What happens next

Neither bloc has a majority, so the outcome depends on who can bring one together. Eisenkot has said he will try to form a coalition, and the Arab parties have indicated they are prepared to join a government. Trouw summed up the uncertainty by noting that everything comes down to which parties are willing to govern with which others.