🔴 Live: Israel election deadlock leaves Netanyahu and rival Eisenkot short of majority

Live: Israel election deadlock leaves Netanyahu and rival Eisenkot short of majority To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot were locked in an election deadlock on Wednesday morning, with both blocs falling short of a parliamentary majority, according to exit polls. Netanyahu vowed to form a new government, saying no leader should rule through the backing of Israeli Arabs, whose parties posted strong gains. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. Attacker shot dead outside Belgrade's Israeli embassy, police says More information to come... Netanyahu bloc leads after 50% of votes counted, Israel elections committee says Trump says his endorsement helped Netanyahu 'a lot' US President Donald Trump said that his endorsement of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in this week's elections helped him "a lot". "I think when the endorsement went out, it had helped him a lot," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One, referring to Netanyahu. No clear winner emerges in Israel's election Votes were being counted as dawn broke in Israel on Wednesday morning, but exit polls suggested that its momentous national election left no clear winner. That likely meant the beginning of weeks of wrangling among parties to form a governing coalition and declare a new prime minister. In the meantime, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains as interim caretaker head of the government. Exit polls released by major Israeli TV stations right after polls closed on Tuesday night and revised overnight indicated that neither Netanyahu’s political bloc nor that of his main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, secured the 61 seats needed for a majority in the parliament, known as the Knesset. Netanyahu says Israel has 'unique opportunity' with Trump to end Iran 'threat' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, seeking to form a new government after close elections, said on Wednesday he could work with US President Donald Trump to eliminate the "existential threat" posed by Iran. "Israel has a unique opportunity with our partner President Trump to forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran," Netanyahu told reporters, after days of brandishing threats of a new bombing campaign against the cleric-run nation. Netanyahu vows to form 'strong' new right-wing government Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed early Wednesday to form a new government after a close election, saying no leader should rule through the backing of Israeli Arabs, whose parties posted strong gains. "We must put in place a strong government of the right," Netanyahu told cheering supporters. "The Jewish and Zionist majority must unite," Netanyahu said. "It is out of the question to have a government that is backed by Arab parties." The speech, delivered after 3:00 am (0100 GMT), was short by Netanyahu's standards and he did not directly claim victory, only noting that his Likud was projected to be the largest single party. Netanyahu says Israel cannot have a government formed with Arab backing New Israeli TV exit polls show opposition, Netanyahu blocs even New Israeli exit polls early Wednesday showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc even with the opposition, after earlier projections showed a narrow lead for the premier's rivals. Among the three mainstream networks, Channels 11 and 13 both put the blocs even at 51 seats -- neither enough for a majority -- while Channel 12 still gave an edge to the opposition led by Gadi Eisenkot after Tuesday's vote. Eisenkot says Israel has chosen change, hopes to form government Israeli opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot said early Wednesday said Israel had chosen change after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and that he would seek to form a new government. In remarks to supporters, Eisenkot also issued a veiled warning to Netanyahu who has stepped up warnings in the final days of the campaign that he will attack Iran -- an emergency that could potentially delay efforts to form a coalition. "Netanyahu, don't you dare use Israel's security for your political needs," Eisenkot said. Exit polls showed the opposition bloc led by Eisenkot with a tiny edge over Netanyahu's right-wing bloc in Tuesday's election but with neither side securing a majority. "The people have spoken against the continuation of Netanyahu's rule," Eisenkot said. "In an election with such a high turnout, it would be a mistake to go to another round of elections." Eisenkot warns Netanyahu not to 'use Israel's security' for political ends Israel's elections: What happens next? Here are four possible scenarios: 1. Coalition The parties will immediately begin negotiations to try to reach a 61-seat majority in the 120-member Knesset, but the path forward is far from clear. President Isaac Herzog will name a candidate who has the best chance to form a government -- not necessarily the party with the most seats, which the initial exit polls showed to be Netanyahu's Likud. The Arab Israeli parties, particularly Raam, have voiced openness to working with Eisenkot's bloc, but the camp has kept them at arm's length, perceiving their support as a liability during the campaign. For Netanyahu's bloc, however, there is no obvious place to pick up more seats after some smaller right-wing parties failed to meet the vote threshold for entering parliament. 2. Minority government If no bloc manages to secure 61 seats, a candidate could attempt to govern without a majority but rather through support on an ad hoc basis from other lawmakers. In this scenario, lawmakers from the Arab Israeli parties -- whose community makes up 20 percent of the population and generally identifies as Palestinian -- could play a critical role. Raam, led by Mansour Abbas, has been a kingmaker in the past, having been the first Arab party to join an Israeli government in a short-lived 2021-2022 coalition led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid. Another Arab movement, the Joint List, has said it would be unlikely to join a coalition government outright, but has offered to provide a "safety net" for any one that ousts Netanyahu from power. 3. National unity government Considering Israel's extreme polarisation, a national unity government would appear fanciful, but it could theoretically create a less extreme government. Israeli commentators have often mused on the possibility of a national unity government in which Netanyahu would jettison his provocative far-right allies as well as ultra-Orthodox parties and team up with Eisenkot, who shares Netanyahu's views on many security issues. Such a grand coalition would also exclude Arab parties. 4. Deadlock and new elections If no candidate manages to form a government, Israel will have to return to the polls. The country held four elections between April 2019 and March 2021 due to the inability of politicians to forge a lasting coalition. The candidate designated by the president will, in principle, have 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible 14-day extension, although there are other procedural ways to prevent an immediate calling of new elections. Netanyahu 'on the backfoot' as exit polls indicate heavy Likud losses FRANCE 24's Irris Makler reports from Jerusalem. Final turnout shows record 87% of eligible Israeli residents voted Exit polls indicate 'paradigm shift' in Israeli politics with gains for Arab-majority parties FRANCE 24's Noga Tarnopolsky reports from Tel Aviv. Israel FM says opposition celebrations 'premature' after exit polls show lead Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said opposition celebrations were "premature" after initial exit polls in Tuesday's election showed it with a slight edge over Netanyahu's right-wing bloc led by Likud. "The celebrations on the left are premature. The smugness of the biased commentators - ridiculous. One thing seems quite clear: (Netanyahu's) Likud is the largest party in Israel," he said on X, posting a video showing Likud's first election win in 1977. In photos: Israelis celebrate election results despite potential deadlock Supporters of Israel's Arab-led Joint List political alliance cheer at the alliance's campaign headquarters in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth, as the first exit polls are announced on television. (© Ahmad Gharabli, AFP) Israelis cheer along the street as the first exit polls are announced in Tel Aviv (© Maya Levin, AFP) A supporter kisses a banner depicting Netanyahu at his party's election headquarters as people react to exit polls. (© Ammar Awad, Reuters) Israeli public has 'fired the Netanyahu government', Democrats party leader Golan says Democrats party leader Yair Golan said the Israeli public has "fired the Netanyahu government". "We have received a historic opportunity to establish a true government of change in Israel and we have no intention of giving it up... We are going to do everything to ensure that such a government is established," he added in a post on X. Projected exit poll seat count shows no clear majority Prolonged coalition bargaining likely in coming days Israel's election appeared to end in deadlock on Tuesday, exit polls showed, leaving neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor rival Gadi Eisenkot with a clear path to forming a government and raising the prospect of prolonged coalition bargaining or another election. The stalemate could work in Netanyahu's favour, allowing the prime minister to remain in power in a caretaker capacity while parties try to forge a governing coalition. Final results could take days, and Israel's fragmented political system leaves smaller parties potential kingmakers. No single party has ever won 61 seats outright in the 120-seat Knesset, making coalitions the norm. Israel's Eisenkot says election results show 'lack of confidence' in Netanyahu Gadi Eisenkot, the main election challenger to Netanyahu, has said that the initial exit polls from the country's pivotal vote showed a "complete lack of confidence" in the veteran premier. "The initial exit poll results indicate a complete lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the October 7 government," Eisenkot said. (FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters) Keywords for this article