The parliamentary election in Israel remained deadlocked, with exit polls from all three major television networks giving opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc a narrow two-seat lead over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s camp. The projections put Eisenkot’s bloc at 52 seats and Netanyahu’s Likud-led alliance at 50, leaving neither side with the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member parliament – Knesset.

The results could give Eisenkot the first chance to form a government, but his path to power remains uncertain. The remaining 18 seats were projected to go to Arab parties not aligned with either bloc, and Eisenkot has largely ruled out forming a government with them. Netanyahu, meanwhile, could remain caretaker prime minister if coalition talks fail.

Israel’s Central Elections Committee said voter turnout reached 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades and around seven percentage points above the 2022 election. The vote was the first since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attacks and the ensuing wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran.

Netanyahu has served as prime minister for nearly 19 of the past 30 years and has repeatedly survived political crises. His opponents removed him from office only once since 2009, but he returned to power 18 months later.

With the latest exit polls showing a narrow advantage for Eisenkot’s bloc but no clear majority for either side, the final count and subsequent coalition negotiations will determine who can form Israel’s next government.