28 October 2026 | Jerusalem – Hebron – Gaza
Israel entered Wednesday with no clear election winner, as Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot made competing statements following Tuesday’s vote.
According to Reuters, revised exit polls from Kan 11 and Channel 13 placed 48 seats for the Likud bloc .
Channel 12 gave Netanyahu’s bloc a narrow 54 advantage. The Palestinians 18 seats !
Neither projection delivers the 61 seats required to form a government.
Netanyahu called for a right-wing government, while Eisenkot said voters had rejected Netanyahu’s leadership and urged him to leave politics.
Arab-led parties could become decisive in coalition negotiations.
However, Eisenkot has largely ruled out forming a government with them, while Netanyahu also rejects relying on them.
Voter turnout reached 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades.
These remain exit-poll projections, not final election results. Official results are expected later this week.
Occupied West Bank: The United Nations reported Monday that more than 3,000 Palestinians had been displaced by Israel’s operation in Hebron. Reuters documented protests against that displacement on Tuesday.
Gaza: No additional independently verified casualty figure was established during this overnight window.
Strategic assessment: The political deadlock could keep Netanyahu in office as caretaker prime minister for an extended period.
For Palestinians, a change of coalition does not automatically mean an end to occupation or recognition of statehood. Eisenkot also opposes Palestinian statehood.
The central question remains whether the next government changes policies on displacement, settlements and Palestinian self-determination.