{"id":11918,"date":"2026-10-28T01:55:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-28T01:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11918"},"modified":"2026-10-28T01:55:53","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T01:55:53","slug":"netanyahu-eisenkot-camps-clash-over-israel-election-projections-israel-election-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=11918","title":{"rendered":"Netanyahu, Eisenkot camps clash over Israel election projections | Israel Election 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Despite narrower exit poll figures, opposition leaders insisted the result was a defeat for Netanyahu\u2019s government.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Published On 28 Oct 2026<\/span>28 Oct 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Israeli political leaders have traded sharp reactions to exit poll projections<\/a> showing no clear winner between the country\u2019s main political blocs.<\/p>\n

Updated figures broadcast by Israel\u2019s Channel 13 showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s Likud-led coalition tied at 51 seats with the opposition bloc led by challenger Gadi Eisenkot in the 120-seat Knesset.<\/p>\n

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Despite narrower exit poll figures, opposition leaders insisted the result was a defeat for the government.<\/p>\n

Eisenkot, head of the Yashar party and a former military chief of staff, told supporters after voting closed that the initial projections showed a \u201ccomplete lack of confidence in Netanyahu and the October 7 government\u201d, according to the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t let anyone confuse you: the Netanyahu bloc has suffered a crushing defeat,\u201d opposition leader Yair Lapid said in a statement. \u201cThis is a total collapse and the public has told them to go home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Under the updated figures, unaligned Arab parties were expected to hold 18 seats, leaving both major camps 10 seats short of the 61 required for an absolute majority.<\/p>\n

Supporters at Eisenkot\u2019s watch party in Tel Aviv cheered projections as voter turnout reached 77.7 percent, according to the Central Elections Committee.<\/p>\n

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Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot and his wife Hannah cast their ballots at a polling station in Herzliya on October 27, 2026 [Jack Guez\/AFP]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

However, senior figures in Netanyahu\u2019s camp pushed back against opposition declarations, saying the final results could shift the balance.<\/p>\n

Gideon Saar, Israel\u2019s foreign minister and a key Netanyahu ally, dismissed opposition statements as \u201cpremature\u201d, writing on social media that Likud remained the largest single party in parliament.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, leaders of Arab political factions highlighted their potential role in upcoming coalition negotiations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will transform the mandate we received into a new reality in the country,\u201d Mansour Abbas, leader of the United Arab List (Ra\u2019am), told reporters.<\/p>\n

At the Joint List alliance headquarters in Nazareth, candidate Faten Gattas told supporters that high participation among Palestinian citizens of Israel aimed to block the return of Netanyahu\u2019s nationalist coalition.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe refuse the occupation and racism, and we will remain here,\u201d Gattas said, according to the Reuters news agency.<\/p>\n

With neither camp reaching a governing majority, political analysts suggested smaller parties would be key deciders as formal coalition talks begin in the coming days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Despite narrower exit poll figures, opposition leaders insisted the result was a defeat for Netanyahu\u2019s government. Published On 28 Oct 202628 Oct 2026 Israeli political leaders have traded sharp reactions to exit poll projections showing no clear winner between the country\u2019s main political blocs. Updated figures broadcast by Israel\u2019s Channel 13 showed Prime Minister Benjamin…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t