TV exit polls Tuesday night showed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud set to retain the Israeli leadership at the end of a bitter election campaign. Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. on Tuesday as Israeli citizens headed for the ballots to vote for Israel’s 20th Knesset. Polls from the end of last week had left options open for a tight race. The TV exit polls were published at 10 p.m., as polling stations closed, after which official results began to roll in. The official final results won’t be publicized until Thursday.
Netanyahu, vying for the role for his fourth time (third consecutively), had made a last-ditch attempt over the past days to win back voters mainly from the right-wing bloc, vowing Monday night to block a Palestinian state should he remain in office.
Unlike years past, analysts had said the race between Likud and Zionist Union, the two leading factions, was too close to call with confidence; but the exit polls showed Netanyahu clearly better placed to build the next coalition.
The Times of Israel is bringing you updates throughout the day and into the night.
Poster Comment:
The Channel 10 exit poll is as follows: Zionist Union – 27 Likud – 27 Kulanu – 10 Joint List – 13 Jewish Home – 8 Yesh Atid – 11 Shas – 7 UTJ – 7 Meretz – 5 Yisrael Beytenu – 5 The bottom line: with Kulanu and UTJ, Netanyahu has a right-wing coalition.
