Israelis are awaiting their general election results after voting in their highest numbers in decades on Tuesday at a pivotal moment for the Middle East.
Votes were being counted overnight after a closely-fought contest between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, former army general Gadi Eisenkot.
An exit poll by Channel 12 showed Mr Netanyahu's Likud party winning 24 seats in the 120-member Knesset, with Mr Eisenkot's Yashar party on 22. Their potential coalitions were also closely matched. The forecast would mean a loss of eight seats for Likud.
The results will set the stage for what could be weeks or months of coalition talks as parties try to assemble the 61 seats needed for a majority in the Knesset.
Turnout was high as voters delivered their verdict on Israel's wartime government. Long queues were reported at polling stations. Mr Netanyahu voted in the west Jerusalem neighbourhood of Katamon amid tight security.
Mr Eisenkot went to a polling station in Herzliya. Opposition politician Yair Golan escaped unhurt after he was approached by a man carrying a large knife, his party said. In a separate incident, three people were arrested for alleged bribery.
Voters from Israel's Arab minority were among those flocking to the polls, some for the first time. People casting ballots at the Nazareth Baptist School, which was being used as a polling station, told The National they were desperate for change after more than three years of “catastrophe” for Arabs living in Israel following the October 7 attacks.
Hasar Zoabi, who voted for a Joint List of three Arab parties, argued that “as a minority in Israel we should use our democratic right to vote to try to influence the politics for the good”.
The high Arab participation has raised the prospect of parties representing the minority having a kingmaker role in the new parliament, potentially either joining a coalition or tolerating a minority government.
Mr Netanyahu remains in office while talks on forming a government take place, with no formal limits on his powers. The prospect of a long interlude has raised fears that he will try to use the situation to his advantage, possibly by initiating a new round of fighting with Iran.
Israel has a history of political deadlock. Between 2019 and 2022, the country held five elections as parties repeatedly struggled to form stable governments.
Under Israeli law, the process of forming a government follows a strict sequence of legal windows. The President first tasks a lawmaker with forming a coalition, granting them up to 42 days, followed by a second candidate who gets 28 days if the first fails. If both fail, a final 21-day period allows any member of the Knesset to try and gather 61 signatures; if this deadline also expires without a majority, the Knesset automatically dissolves itself and mandates that a snap election be held roughly 90 days later.
The election was Israeli voters' first chance to weigh in on Mr Netanyahu's leadership after a four-year term defined by the October 7, 2023 attacks, Israel's destructive war on Gaza and the country's subsequent campaigns in Lebanon, Iran' and across the region.
Opposition supporters used the campaign's final days to call for a formal inquiry into the October 7 attacks, something Mr Netanyahu has resisted. Critics say Mr Netanyahu has deepened Israel's international isolation, with its actions in Gaza and the West Bank causing widespread outrage.
Mr Netanyahu defended his record, casting himself as the only leader with the mettle to face down Israel's foes. He ended the campaign with several moves to emphasise his hardline security stance, from warning of a "second Holocaust" if Iran is allowed to rearm, to ordering an operation of questionable military value in the occupied West Bank.
Mr Eisenkot kept his policies vague, running on a brand of down-to-earth honesty. But most of the main candidates hold belligerent views towards Iran and few are enthusiastic about the idea of a Palestinian state.
