Israel holds pivotal election with no clear winner emerging

Israel held a general election on 27 October 2026, and exit polls released the next day showed no clear winner. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition and the opposition bloc led by former military chief Gadi Eisenkot finished roughly level. Projections gave Netanyahu's side between zero and three extra seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Voter turnout was 77.7 percent, the highest since 1999. Arab parties did well, winning a projected 18 to 19 seats, which could make them decisive in forming a government. Netanyahu's Likud party received the most votes of any single party. Around 600,000 absentee ballots, mostly from soldiers, had not yet been counted. Official results were expected overnight, but forming a new government will likely take several weeks.