Netanyahu and rival each claim mandate after Israel vote

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot each vowed today to form a government after both came up short in the first election since the 7 October 2023 attack traumatised the country.

Voters turned out yesterday in the highest numbers in decades to give their verdict on the divisive rule of Mr Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has pushed the country sharply to the right and unleashed a wave of wars in response to the Hamas attack.

Exit polls showed Mr Eisenkot, a former military chief and political novice, and his opposition bloc neck and neck with Mr Netanyahu's hard-right camp and both well away from the threshold for a majority in parliament.

The strongest gains came from Arab Israeli parties whose voters turned out in soaring numbers against Mr Netanyahu, who has relentlessly warned that the minority would dilute the Jewish nationalist direction in which he has taken Israel.

Mr Netanyahu, greeting cheering supporters at a Jerusalem convention centre after 3am local time (1am Irish time), called for a "strong government of the right" and said that the "Jewish and Zionist majority must unite".

The 77-year-old prime minister was unusually brief and did not directly claim victory.

Instead, he again hinted that he was ready for a third bombing campaign against Iran alongside US President Donald Trump, his close ally.

"Israel has a unique opportunity with our partner President Trump to forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran," Mr Netanyahu said.

Mr Eisenkot, speaking to his own supporters in Tel Aviv, issued a veiled warning to Mr Netanyahu, who observers say could use a war to push for a unity government.

"Netanyahu, don't you dare use Israel's security for your political needs," Mr Eisenkot said.

Addressing Israel's security establishment, Mr Eisenkot said that they served the state and not Mr Netanyahu, calling him "a caretaker prime minister, without a mandate or the people's trust".

'Public has voted for change'

Mr Eisenkot shares many of Mr Netanyahu's views on security and has backed the Gaza offensive following 7 October that has reduced the territory to rubble.

But Mr Eisenkot has vowed to create a more inclusive atmosphere inside Israel and to rein in extremist settlers in the West Bank who have attacked Palestinians with virtual impunity.

After turnout of nearly 78%, the highest since 1999, Mr Eisenkot said it would be a mistake to hold a second election and vowed to work "swiftly" to form a government.

"The public has voted for change," Mr Eisenkot said.

"A worthy leader would accept the people's vote of no confidence and announce his retirement from political life today," he added.

Mr Netanyahu also vowed to form a new government, saying no leader should rule through the backing of Israeli Arabs, whose parties posted strong gains.

"The Jewish and Zionist majority must unite," he said. "It is out of the question to have a government that is backed by Arab parties."

Gideon Saar, Israel's foreign minister and Mr Netanyahu ally, called victory declarations by the opposition "premature".

Eye on Arab kingmakers

The three mainstream Israeli television networks in exit polls initially gave a slight edge to the opposition.

By early this morning, two networks put the blocs even at 51 seats each, while one network still gave a narrow advantage to the opposition.

Major television networks said that Likud would be the largest single party in the parliament, with 24 to 27 seats.

Israeli Arab lists were projected to win 17 to 18 seats, a sharp gain.

No single party has ever won 61 seats outright in the 120-seat Knesset, making coalitions the ⁠norm.

Key Israeli Arab leader Mansour Abbas said he believed the right had "suffered a major loss" and was open to working with Mr Eisenkot.

Mr Eisenkot said he would not govern with Israeli Arab politicians - a scenario that Mr Netanyahu had warned his voters could be a consequence of an opposition victory.

But Arab politicians could give Mr Eisenkot support in parliamentary votes to maintain a minority government without joining a coalition. If not, Israel could head to new elections.

Itamar Ben Gvir, a far-right firebrand who according to exit polls did not gain as much as many expected, warned Mr Netanyahu against another option - a unity government with Mr Eisenkot.

"It would be a terrible mistake," said Mr Ben Gvir.

Hebrew University of Jerusalem political scientist Gideon Rahat said Mr Ben Gvir had succeeded in mobilising votes - of Israeli Arabs.

But he said, "Even if Netanyahu lost, that doesn't mean Eisenkot won."

In a dash to secure as many votes as possible, Mr Netanyahu had charged that Israeli Arabs were out to "steal the election" and his Likud party unsuccessfully asked election authorities to keep polls open past 10pm local time (8pm Irish time).

His efforts led the opposition to say he was looking for pretexts to challenge the results.

Israelis cast their ballots in the shadow of Hamas's 7 October attack and the multi-front regional wars that it sparked, with the trauma from the attack still fresh and questions over accountability and security central to the campaign.

The vote came as Israel looks increasingly isolated on the world stage, driven by the war in Iran and the military campaign in Gaza, soaring settlement construction and violence in the occupied West Bank.

Mr Netanyahu himself faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over Gaza as well as domestic corruption charges that could land him in prison if he loses power.

Read more: Netanyahu loses his majority, but no one has won it yet

Mr Eisenkot is a political novice whose mild manner is the antithesis of the smooth-talking incumbent.

The son of working-class Moroccan Jewish immigrants, Mr Eisenkot would be the first prime minister of Middle Eastern or North African descent.

Before voting, the 66-year-old Mr Eisenkot paid his respects privately at the grave of his son Gal, whose death fighting in Gaza has drawn empathy from many Israelis.

Mass turnout

Tens of thousands of Israelis estimated to have flown in from abroad for an election seen as crucial for their country.

Eilana Zisblit, 55, told reporters she had travelled back from Canada, where she has lived for almost 30 years, to vote for a centre-right party in Mr Eisenkot's bloc.

"The country is going in a really, really bad direction. Both for Jews and Arabs living in the country, and for Jews living abroad," she said.

The time to act is "now, or the country really won't survive anymore", she added.

Mr Netanyahu, 77, who has served as prime minister on and off for more than 19 years, has been quick to allege electoral fraud.

He said yesterday that three senior officials of the United Arab List had been arrested with envelopes full of cash in the south, an incident that electoral authorities called an isolated, local case.

Mr Netanyahu last returned to power in December 2022.

In the last days of the campaign, he posted an image of a nuclear bomb destroying Tel Aviv and talked up his endorsement by Mr Trump, who is also fond of alleging election fraud.