Israeli exit polls show huge Palestinian gains block Netanyahu from forming government

 Joint List and Ra'am projected to take 17 seats, with the prime minister and opposition blocs set to gain 50 and 53 respectively

Lubna Masarwa in Jerusalem

Published date: 27 October 2026 20:09 GMT | Last update: 3 mins 54 secs ago

Neither Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor the Zionist opposition parties have enough seats to form a government following a huge surge in voting from Palestinian citizens of Israel, an exit poll suggested on Tuesday.

After polls closed at 10pm local time, Channel 13 said Netanyahu’s bloc is projected to win 50 seats with the opposition set to take 53 - far short of a 61 seat majority.

The Joint List and Ra'am, two slates representing Palestinian citizens of Israel, are projected to pick up 17 seats, which would be a record number of Arab MPs in Israel’s parliament, the Knesset.

It was clear througout polling day that turnout would be high in the first election since the Gaza genocide and various Israeli wars in the region since the 7 October Hamas-led attack.

Palestinian citizens, who over the past four years have watched the Israeli state lay waste to Gaza, violent settlers make life hell in the occupied West Bank and Israel's leaders and society become ever more disciminatory towards Arabs, voted in record numbers.

While the three main broadcasters differed somewhat in their projections, it was clear on Tuesday night that Palestinian citizens had upended the election and stopped Netanyahu and his Jewish supremacist allies from forming a government.

Eisenkot's bloc of opposition parties, meanwhile, appear unable to form a working coalition without the participation of Palestinian parties, despite many of his partners ruling that out during the campaign.

Palestinian citizens make up around 20 percent of Israel's population, but the parties that represent them are almost always frozen out of any governing coalitions.

For now, Netanyahu remains prime minister as a period of coalition-building negotiations begins.

His party, Likud, is projected to be the largest in the Knesset, which traditionally means the president will offer him the first attempt at forming a government.

Gabi Eisenkot, the former military chief of staff leading the opposition bloc, said the election results show "lack of confidence" in Netanyahu.

Yair Lapid, another opposition leader and former prime minister, said Netanyahu suffered a "crushing defeat".

Final results could take days to finalise, with half a million votes from soldiers due to be counted later in the week.

This is a developing story…

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