Netanyahu and Eisenkot Each Claim Mandate After Inconclusive Israeli Election

Shortly after 3:00 am on Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu walked onto a stage at a Jerusalem convention centre to greet cheering supporters. He did not claim victory. The 77-year-old prime minister, Israel's longest-serving, called for a "strong government of the right" and said the "Jewish and Zionist majority must unite." His speech was unusually brief.

The night before, Israelis had voted in the first national election since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack. Turnout was nearly 78 percent, the highest since 1999. The vote was a verdict on Netanyahu's divisive rule, which has pushed the country sharply to the right and set off a series of wars after the attack.

Exit polls from the three mainstream Israeli television networks gave Netanyahu's hard-right camp and the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot about 51 seats each. The threshold for a majority in parliament is 61. The polls initially favoured the opposition before settling into a near tie. Eisenkot is a former military chief and a political novice. He too vowed to form a government.

The strongest gains went to Arab Israeli parties, projected at 17 to 18 seats. Some Arab communities reported near-universal turnout, driven by anger at what the source describes as often derogatory rhetoric from Netanyahu's far-right allies. Netanyahu has repeatedly warned that the minority would dilute the Jewish nationalist direction he has set for the country. Mansour Abbas, a key Arab leader, said the right had "suffered a major loss" and that he was open to working with Eisenkot.

That opening is complicated. Eisenkot said during the campaign that he would not govern with Arab lawmakers, and Netanyahu again suggested that a government relying on Arab votes would lack legitimacy. Arab lawmakers could still back Eisenkot in parliamentary votes and sustain a minority government without joining a coalition. If that fails, Israel could head to new elections. Eisenkot said a second election would be a mistake and promised to work "swiftly."

Netanyahu's remarks leaned on security. He listed leaders Israel has killed under his orders and again hinted at readiness for a third bombing campaign against Iran alongside US President Donald Trump. "Israel has a unique opportunity with our partner President Trump to forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran," he said. Speaking to supporters in Tel Aviv, Eisenkot issued a veiled warning, since observers say Netanyahu could use a war to push for a unity government. "Netanyahu, don't you dare use Israel's security for your political needs," he said. He told the security establishment it served the state, not Netanyahu, whom he called "a caretaker prime minister, without a mandate or the people's trust." He added that a worthy leader would accept the vote of no confidence and retire from political life.

A unity government has its own opponent. Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right firebrand who champions the expulsion of Palestinians and would likely be shut out of such an arrangement, warned Netanyahu it "would be a terrible mistake." Exit polls suggested Ben Gvir gained less than many expected. Gideon Rahat, a political scientist at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said Ben Gvir had indeed mobilised votes, but those of Israeli Arabs. He cautioned: "Even if Netanyahu lost, that doesn't mean Eisenkot won."

The contest came as Israel looks increasingly isolated internationally, owing to the war with Iran, the Gaza campaign, soaring settlement construction and violence in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu faces an International Criminal Court arrest warrant over Gaza, plus domestic corruption charges that could send him to prison if he loses power.

Eisenkot, 66, shares many of Netanyahu's security views and has backed the Gaza offensive that reduced the territory to rubble. But he has promised a more inclusive atmosphere at home and a rein on extremist settlers who have attacked Palestinians with virtual impunity. The son of working-class Moroccan Jewish immigrants, he would be the first prime minister of Middle Eastern or North African descent. Before voting, he privately visited the grave of his son Gal, who died fighting in Gaza, a loss that has drawn empathy from many Israelis.

Tens of thousands of Israelis are estimated to have flown home to vote. Eilana Zisblit, 55, returned from Canada, where she has lived for almost 30 years, to back a centre-right party in Eisenkot's bloc. She said the country was going in a "really, really bad direction." What happens next depends on whether Arab lawmakers lend votes, whether a unity government emerges, or whether Israelis are sent back to the polls.