Live Updates: No Clear Winner Yet in Israel’s Pivotal Election

 

LiveUpdated 

Oct. 28, 2026, 3:09 a.m. ET13 minutes ago

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/10/28/world/israel-elections

 

Live Updates: No Clear Winner Yet in Israel’s Pivotal Election

Blocs led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger, Gadi Eisenkot, were roughly even as vote counting continued on Wednesday. It could take weeks to form the next government.

Key Players ›

 

Benjamin Netanyahu

Prime minister and leader of far-right coalition

Gadi Eisenkot

Center-right former military chief

Itamar Ben-Gvir

Far-right national security minister

Naftali Bennett

Led short-lived anti-Netanyahu government

 

Latest

Pinned

Isabel KershnerJohnatan Reiss and Qasim Nauman

Here’s the latest.

Israelis were bracing on Wednesday for what could be weeks of political gridlock after exit polls showed no clear winner in a national election that many have described as a make-or-break moment for the country.

Turnout in Tuesday’s election, widely seen as a referendum on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, was the highest in a generation. Exit polls — which have a spotty record in Israel — suggested that Mr. Netanyahu’s alliance was roughly even with a bloc of opposition parties led by Gadi Eisenkot, with neither side positioned to form a government.

That uncertainty did not stop the leading candidates from making triumphant late-night speeches to their supporters.

Mr. Eisenkot, a former head of the Israeli military, struck a defiant tone toward Mr. Netanyahu, saying: “Tonight we got the answer: The public opted for change.”

A few hours later, Mr. Netanyahu told supporters that his party, Likud, had emerged as the largest in Israel. “We must form a strong right-wing government,” he said.

Most of the votes were expected to be counted by Wednesday, though the final tally could take days. Lengthy negotiations could follow as political parties try to assemble a governing majority.

Both blocs may need the support of two Arab parties that, in a surprise showing, were projected to win as many as 19 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, Israel’s Parliament. But Mr. Netanyahu has effectively ruled out including them in his coalition. Mr. Eisenkot and his partners have also balked at the prospect.

Some analysts are considering whether Mr. Netanyahu could join Mr. Eisenkot or other opposition members to form a unity government. But that would face serious challenges, including agreement on who would serve as prime minister. A governing coalition would usually need at least 61 lawmakers, though Mr. Eisenkot has floated the idea of forming a minority government. Another possible outcome, analysts said, would be a do-over election.

Here’s what else we are covering:

• Herzog’s role: President Isaac Herzog of Israel holds a largely ceremonial position, except after national elections, when it falls to him to select a potential prime minister. He is expected to face a difficult decision this time around. Read more ›
• More votes: The exit polls do not reflect the hundreds of thousands of votes cast at special polling stations, including at military bases, hospitals, prisons and embassies. In Israel’s 2022 election, those votes tended to favor Mr. Netanyahu and his allies.
• War fears: Following reports that Mr. Netanyahu has been pushing for renewed attacks on Iran, Mr. Eisenkot warned him against abusing his power as caretaker prime minister. “Netanyahu, don’t dare use Israel’s security for your political needs,” he said in his post-election speech.
• Palestinian concerns: This is a high-stakes election for Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but they do not have the right to vote in it. Read more ›

 

Rise of Palestinian parties in Knesset will redraw Israel’s political landscape / What happens now?

 

Updated at 06.31 GMT

1h ago06.18 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/28/israel-election-results-live-updates-exit-polls-netanyahu-likud-eisenkot-latest-news?page=with%3Ablock-6ae176f58f088388a1d9fe44#block-6ae176f58f088388a1d9fe44

 

Analysis: Rise of Palestinian parties in Knesset will redraw Israel’s political landscape

The big gains made by Palestinian parties in Israel’s general election pose an urgent and fundamental challenge to the country’s mainstream opposition: either cooperate with Arab Israelis or hand Benjamin Netanyahu a roadmap to political survival.

In the wake of Tuesday’s exit polls, the leader of the opposition bloc, Gadi Eisenkot, declared them a victory for “Israel’s Zionist national majority” but the real outcome looks as if it will be far more complex than that.

The greatest change between the new Knesset and the old will be the dramatically increased representation of Palestinian parties, currently projected to win 17 to 18 seats, up from 10. That redraws the battle lines on Israel’s political landscape. Arab Israelis will not so easily be sidelined and ignored.

View image in fullscreen

Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar party, waves to supporters. Photograph: Ariel Schalit/AP

Eisenkot could argue he has a chance of negotiating his way to a Knesset majority. To do so, however, he and his partners in the “change” bloc would be obliged to sit down to talk with the Palestinian groupings, the Joint List and Ra’am (an acronym for the United Arab List).

They would probably find Ra’am and its leader, Mansour Abbas, easier to talk to. Abbas has already participated in a right-leaning government of Naftali Bennett, now a junior partner in the Eisenkot bloc. Abbas has shown willingness to make political compromises and stated emphatically on Tuesday that his priority is to “bring down Benjamin Netanyahu, Smotrich, and Ben Gvir in this election”.

However, most estimates based on the exit polls show Ra’am as the smaller of the two Palestinian groupings, with seven projected seats in the new Knesset and it is not clear that would be enough, even if a pact was made with the consent of the other members of Eisenkot’s bloc, to produce a majority government.

View image in fullscreen

Head of the Joint List alliance Yousef Jabareen (second left) celebrates with supporters as the first exit polls are announced at campaign headquarters in Nazareth, Israel. Photograph: Jamal Awad/EPA

Negotiations with the Joint List, with 10 or more projected seats, would be tougher. Eisenkot has laid down four conditions: recognise Israel as a Jewish and democratic state, accept the values expressed in Israel’s declaration of independence, accept conscription for Palestinians Israeli citizens, who are currently exempt, and denounce Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

Speaking on Tuesday as the votes were being counted, Amjad Shbita, the general secretary of Hadash, the socialist party that is the biggest faction in the Joint List, said Eisenkot would be in no position to impose terms for coalition talks.

 

1h ago06.03 GMT

With 50% of the vote counted, Israeli media report that Netanyahu’s bloc is ahead, with projections he could take 56 seats under the current vote share.

The projections put Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc on 49 seats and the Palestinian parties on 15 seats.

View image in fullscreen

Placards are seen on the floor after Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to supporters. Photograph: Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Sixty-one seats are needed to form a majority to govern in the Knesset, and the final seat projection will probably be updated as more votes are counted.

Exits polls earlier in the evening had both Netanyahu’s and Eisenkot’s bloc tied on about 51 seats.

 

2h ago05.34 GMT

What happens now?

The lead that exit polls gave to the opposition bloc early in the night has disappeared, with Netanyahu’s grouping now neck and neck with Gadi Eisenkot.

Israeli television networks gave the two blocs approximately 51 seats each in the 120 member Knesset – well below the 61 needed to govern. Palestinian parties meanwhile saw a surge in support, with exit polls showing them winning 17 or 18 seats between them.

What’s next?

Parties will attempt to reach a majority

No single party has ever reached the requisite 61 seats needed to form a government in the Knesset, so parties must work together to form governing coalitions.

President Isaac Herzog will name a candidate who has the best chance to form a government – not necessarily the party with the most seats – but with the exit polls showing both parties falling short of a majority that process could take weeks.

View image in fullscreen

Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas and opposition bloc leader Gadi Eisenkot. Composite: Alamy

​Coalition building in Israel has always been difficult because mainstream parties usually refuse to collaborate with parties run by Palestinian citizens​ of Israel. However some have suggested Eisenkot could begin discussions with the Palestinian groupings who have seen a surge in support.

Palestinian grouping Ra’am is seen as a potential kingmaker if Netanyahu fails to secure enough votes to try to form a government. Their leader, Mansour Abbas, participated in a right-leaning government in the past.

However Eisenkot’s camp kept them at arm’s length during the campaign, perceiving their support as a liability. In the past he has said Arab-led parties do not meet Zionist criteria to govern.

For Netanyahu’s bloc, however, there is no obvious place to pick up more seats, save for defections. Addressing his supporters in the early hours of Wednesday morning, he said that a government that relies on the support of Palestinian parties must not be formed.

Coalition negotiations can be arduous and can produce unstable governments. It took Netanyahu 58 days to form his government after the previous election in November 2022.

A minority government could be attempted

If no bloc manages to secure 61 seats, a candidate could attempt to govern without a majority but rather through support on an ad hoc basis from other lawmakers.

In this scenario, lawmakers from the Palestinian parties whose representation in the Knesset is likely to have increase, could play a critical role.

The Joint List – which represents a number of Israeli Arab parties – has said it would be unlikely to join a coalition government outright, but has offered to provide a “safety net” for anyone that ousts Netanyahu from power.

A national unity government?

While appearing fanciful at first glance, Israeli commentators have mused in recent weeks on the possibility of a national unity government in which Netanyahu would jettison his far-right allies as well as ultra-Orthodox parties and team up with Eisenkot, who shares Netanyahu’s views on many security issues.

View image in fullscreen

Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to supporters at the Likud Party election-night event in Jerusalem. Photograph: Alexi J Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Amit Segal, the chief political analyst for Channel 12 and journalist seen as close to Netanyahu, suggested that the prime minister’s extortion that the “Zionist majority must come to its senses and unite”, could be interpreted as an olive branch to Eisenkot.

This scenario has a recent precedent. In 2020, Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, like Eisenkot a retired general appealing to the centre, reached a power-sharing agreement, but their partnership fell apart after a year, triggering another election.

A unity government in the present situation would face strong opposition from both sides, particularly the opposition bloc, which has built its campaign around ousting Netanyahu, casting him as unfit to lead.

New elections

If no candidate manages to form a government, Israel will have to return to the polls.

The country held five elections between 2019 and 2022 due to the inability of politicians to forge a lasting coalition.

However if we a new set of polls is on the horizon, they are not likely to happen for weeks at the minimum, with the candidate designated by the president having 28 days to form a coalition, with a possible two week extension.

 

LIVE: Israel Elections 2026 | Bibi’s Likud Leads, No Clear Majority Yet | Benjamin Netanyahu | N18G

 

Israel Elections 2026 LIVE: Benjamin Netanyahu’s political future hangs in the balance as early election results point to a tight contest and no clear path to a governing majority.

 

Netanyahu’s Likud party is emerging as the largest individual party, but the race to secure the 61 seats needed for a majority in Israel’s 120-member Knesset remains uncertain. Opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot and other political rivals are seeking to shape the next government.

 

Will Bibi return to power, or could Israel face weeks of coalition negotiations and political uncertainty?

BREAKING. SUMMARY last 10 minutes / 18 AEDT

 

3m ago18.00 AEDT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/28/israel-election-results-live-updates-exit-polls-netanyahu-likud-eisenkot-latest-news?page=with%3Ablock-6ae127098f088388a1d9fc3b#top-of-blog

 

Summary

It’s just after 9am in Tel Aviv where Israelis are grappling with the results of yesterday’s elections, with no clear victor and uncertainty guaranteed at this point.

• With 50% of the vote counted, Israeli media report that Netanyahu’s bloc is ahead, with projections he could take 55 seats under the current vote share. The projections put Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc on 49 seats and the Palestinian parties on 16 seats. Sixty-one seats are needed to form a majority to govern in the Knesset, and the final seat projection will probably be updated as more votes are counted.
• Exit polls published by Israel’s major TV networks show Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing bloc tied with the opposition grouping led by Gadi Eisenkot on 51 seats each. Earlier exit polls had Eisenkot winning most seats in the Knesset by a slight margin. Israeli exit polls are often revised after publication and are notoriously imprecise, with the final count often swinging by several seats.
• Voter turnout surged to the highest level in more than two decades, underscoring the stakes of an election that has been labelled the most important in the country’s history. More than 77% of eligible voters cast a ballot, according to Israel’s central elections committee, about 7 percentage points higher than in 2022.
• The Palestinian parties are projected to dramatically increase their representation in the Knesset, with exit polls showing they could win as many as 18 seats, up from 10. Experts have said that if Eisenkot falls short of a majority, as the exit polls suggest, he would be obliged to sit down to talk to the Palestinian groupings, the Joint List and Ra’am, to try to form a government – which could take weeks.
• Netanyahu took the stage at a post-election rally in Jerusalem just after 3am, telling his supporters official results will show that “Likud is the largest party in Israel”. He told his supporters that the country must “establish a strong, right-wing national government” – adding that a government that relies on the support of Palestinian parties must not be formed.
• Eisenkot told cheering supporters in Tel Aviv that the “Israeli public has voted against Netanyahu’s service as Israel’s prime minister … a worthy leader would have accepted the people’s non-confidence and announced today his retirement from politics.” In his speech, he also warned Netanyahu not to “use Israel’s security” for political ends, playing on fears that the prime minister could use this period of uncertainty to launch a new attack on Iran.
• The exit polls were released after a last-ditch effort by Netanyahu and several other parties to keep polling stations open beyond their 10pm deadline was rejected by the Central Elections Committee. The prime minister suggested publicly that efforts were being made by the “left and Arabs” to steal the election, a claim rejected by the committee, which said it had seen no evidence of systematic tampering.

 

Summary

 

From 3h ago

04.08 GMT

https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/oct/28/israel-election-results-live-updates-exit-polls-netanyahu-likud-eisenkot-latest-news?page=with%3Ablock-6ae127098f088388a1d9fc3b#block-6ae127098f088388a1d9fc3b

 

Summary

It’s just after 6am in Tel Aviv where Israelis are waking up to exit polls that show no clear victor in yesterday’s elections, with uncertainty guaranteed at this point.

The polls published by Israel’s major TV networks show Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing bloc tied with the opposition grouping led by Gadi Eisenkot on 51 seats each, short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority coalition government.

Earlier exit polls had Eisenkot’s bloc winning most seats in the Knesset by a slight margin. Israeli exit polls are often revised after publication and are notoriously imprecise, with the final count often swinging by several seats.

Voter turnout surged to the highest level in more than two decades, underscoring the stakes of an election that has been labelled the most important in the country’s history. More than 77% of eligible voters cast a ballot, according to Israel’s central elections committee, about 7 percentage points higher than in 2022.

Final counting is ongoing, with more than 30% of the votes tabulated so far.

A supporter of the Likud party waits at an election night rally in Jerusalem. Photograph: Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

The Palestinian parties are projected to dramatically increase their representation in the Knesset, with predictions they could win as many as 18 seats, up from 10. Experts have said that if Eisenkot falls short of a majority, as the exit polls suggest, he would be obliged to sit down to talk to the Palestinian groupings, the Joint List and Ra’am, to try to form a government – which could take weeks.

It is also possible that Eisenkot could try to govern as a minority government, with informal vote-by-vote agreements that would keep the new coalition afloat.

• Netanyahu took the stage at a post-election rally in Jerusalem just after 3am, telling his supporters official results will show that “Likud is the largest party in Israel”. He told his supporters that the country must “establish a strong, right-wing national government” – adding that a government that relies on the support of Palestinian parties must not be formed.
• Eisenkot told cheering supporters in Tel Aviv that the “Israeli public has voted against Netanyahu’s service as Israel’s prime minister … a worthy leader would have accepted the people’s non-confidence and announced today his retirement from politics.” In his speech, he also warned Netanyahu not to “use Israel’s security” for political ends, playing on fears that the prime minister could use this period of uncertainty to launch a new attack on Iran.
• The exit polls were released after a last-ditch effort by Netanyahu and several other parties to keep polling stations open beyond their 10pm deadline was rejected by the Central Elections Committee. The prime minister suggested publicly that efforts were being made by the “left and Arabs” to steal the election, a claim rejected by the committee, which said it had seen no evidence of systematic tampering.

 

EU prepares for a grim future with new climate-proofing law

 

EU prepares for a grim future with new climate-proofing law 

 

The Commission says it’s not giving up on slashing emissions but acknowledges that’s no longer enough.

A plant is pictured on the partially dried-up Rhine riverbed in Düsseldorf, Germany on July 28, 2026. | Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images

October 27, 2026 3:30 pm CET

By Zia Weise

https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-prepare-future-new-climate-proofing-law/

 

BRUSSELS — Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

The European Commission updated its approach to dealing with climate change along those lines on Tuesday with a package aimed at improving the bloc’s response to mounting disasters such as extreme heat, supercharged storms and worsening wildfires. 

Unveiling its first-ever law to boost the bloc’s resilience to global warming, the EU executive conceded that merely slashing planet-warming emissions is insufficient as climate extremes wreak havoc across the continent. 

“There is no alternative to continue to cut emissions more forcefully and to move full-frontal into clean energy,” Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra told reporters. “But at the same time, we do have to acknowledge that the problems we're facing have morphed into something that is so large that just doing that alone unfortunately no longer is good enough.” 

The Commission’s proposed Climate Resilience Law asks governments to draft plans to prepare for a world that’s 2 degrees Celsius hotter in 2050 and 3C hotter by the end of the century, aligning with the United Nations’ latest projections that current global climate policies can only limit warming to 2.8C. 

The same U.N. report also warned that the world can no longer limit warming to 1.5C, the lower bound of the Paris Agreement’s dual goals, and that steep emissions cuts are needed to achieve the best-case scenario of halting the rise in global temperatures at 1.8C. 

The Commission insisted that Tuesday’s package did not amount to Brussels resigning itself to catastrophic levels of warming. 

“Let me just be crystal-clear on the 1.5C, that remains our goal,” said Hoekstra. “At the same time, it would be unwise not to prepare for… the current trajectory the world is on.” 

Regulation for the deregulation era

Under the proposed law, governments are “encouraged” to take the 3C scenario into account when designing policies, budgets and investments. 

Countries will have to carry out national climate risk assessments every five years starting in 2029, and subsequently draw up climate-proofing plans by the end of 2030. These strategies should also indicate which public authorities are in charge of managing certain climate risks to avoid inaction and finger-pointing among ministries and agencies.  

The fairly light-touch legislation reflects the prevailing mood in the EU. Brussels itself has committed to a deregulation agenda, and national governments have called for fewer rules, not more, particularly where climate and the environment are concerned. 

Efforts to improve resilience to weather extremes, such as flood prevention or urban greening, are also largely a national and even local responsibility, with the EU holding limited powers. 

Wopke Hoekstra looks on during the European Industry Summit in Antwerp, Belgium on Feb. 11, 2026. | Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty Images

Even the limited rules proposed on Tuesday are already raising eyebrows. 

“I strongly support a clearer allocation of responsibilities,” said Peter Liese, the lead climate lawmaker of the center-right European People’s Party. But, he added, “we need to examine whether the plans, in the form proposed by the Commission, are necessary. Plans alone do not protect people and could tie up resources unnecessarily if we do not design them pragmatically.” 

Others argued the law was too limited. "The danger is a framework that tells us exactly how exposed we are and then commits us to nothing," said Greens-affiliated lawmaker Kai Tegethoff. "Europe needs binding resilience targets and clear, measurable goals for the sectors most at risk."

The Commission, for its part, has sought to appeal to governments' concerns over the EU’s economic competitiveness by emphasizing the wealth-destroying threat of climate disasters and the business potential of climate-proofing technologies. 

“Some may say resilience is expensive. But the right question is, what is the real cost of being unprepared,” said Teresa Ribera, the Commission’s executive vice president in charge of the green transition. Both she and Hoekstra cited data showing the impact of heat on GDP as an example. “Europe cannot be competitive without being resilient,” she added. 

In the wider package presented Tuesday, the Commission also highlighted the emerging market for climate technologies such as drought-resilient crops and cooling solutions, casting European industry as a front-runner in that sector. 

As the EU is currently negotiating its next long-term budget, the package does not come with any funding attached, despite financing often acting as the biggest barrier to climate-proofing efforts. The bloc needs to invest around €70 billion a year by 2050 to adapt to a warmer world but currently only spends €29 billion. 

More where that came from

While presenting new obligations for governments, the Commission also promised to push ahead with work in Brussels. 

The European Environment Agency will draw up bloc-wide climate risk assessments, with the next one due in June 2028, and the Commission will present an EU “strategic plan on climate resilience” by the end of September 2028. 

Progress will be assessed regularly based on four criteria — climate-related deaths, economic losses attributable to global warming, the share of uninsured losses, and related fiscal costs. The Commission’s Eurostat agency will start compiling EU-wide statistics on climate-related deaths and economic losses by the end of 2030, according to the regulation. 

Beyond the legislative efforts, the EU executive also presented a wider package that includes several digital tools, including a “climate viewer” that converts the new warming scenario into local projections policymakers can use.

The Commission also vowed to take into account the new 3C warming scenario in all its future policy proposals. Further steps, including a heat wave action plan and a climate insurance alliance, are planned for next year, it said. 

"I wouldn't say that we're nearly done," said Hoekstra. "Much of this is going to be work in progress." And if climate change continues getting worse, he added, “this package might well need to be beefed up.” 

 

Farage blames 'staff incompetence' for half-empty Reform event