Partial results and exit polls from Israel’s parliamentary election show no clear winner, with neither the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor that of his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, on a clear path to a governing majority.

With just over 57 percent of votes counted at 8am (06:00 GMT) on Wednesday, Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition was on track to win 56 seats in the 120-seat parliament, with Eisenkot’s opposition bloc on 49 seats, according to tallies published by Israeli media.

Either side would need 61 seats to form a majority government.

Arab parties were projected to win 16 seats, which could give them significant leverage in forming the next government.

The election is largely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s handling of the October 7, 2023 Hamas-led attacks and Israel’s ensuing genocidal war on Gaza, as well as the attacks on Lebanon and Iran.

An inconclusive result would leave Israel in political limbo, allowing Netanyahu to remain in power in a caretaker capacity while parties try to forge a governing coalition.

‘Crushing defeat’

According to two exit polls published by Israeli media after Tuesday’s vote, the two blocs were deadlocked on 51 seats, while a third exit poll showed Netanyahu’s bloc was three seats ahead.

Netanyahu was defiant early on Wednesday, aiming to position himself to remain the country’s longest-serving prime minister.

“We must establish a strong, right-wing, nationalist government,” said Netanyahu. “We must not endanger Israel and establish a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties.”

Eisenkot said the exit polls showed a “lack of confidence” in the current prime minister.

Yair Lapid, the current opposition leader, echoed the sentiment.

“Don’t let anyone confuse you,” he said. “The Netanyahu bloc has suffered a crushing defeat. This is a total collapse, and the public has told them to go home.”

Yair Golan, the leader of the opposition Democrats, meanwhile said Israeli voters have “fired the Netanyahu government”, pledging to work with political partners to form a new administration.

“We have received a historic opportunity to establish a true government of change in Israel and we have no intention of giving it up,” he wrote on X.

But Gideon Saar, Israel’s foreign minister and a member of Netanyahu’s Likud party, said the opposition’s celebrations were premature.

In a social media post, he criticised the “pronouncements of biased commentators” and said: “Likud is the largest party in Israel. It is always good to learn something from the past.”

Netanyahu, the 77-year-old head of Likud, has served as prime minister for nearly 19 of the past 30 years and has repeatedly survived political crises. His opponents have managed to wrest the premiership from him only once since 2009, after four inconclusive elections in two years.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Joint List, an alliance of Arab parties, supporters erupted in whistles and applause as the exit polls were published, capping a night of historic turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Yousef Jabareen, leader of the Joint List, called the election a “historic day” and said voters had delivered a “clear and sharp” message. “The ‘government of bloodshed’ must go!” he said in a statement.

“We have proven that we are a political force that cannot be ignored, and that a future here cannot be built without our voice.”

Mansour Abbas, the leader of Ra’am, or the United Arab List, also hailed the projected results. “We will transform the mandate we received into a new reality in the country,” Abbas told reporters, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

While the exit polls suggest the Arab-led parties could emerge as kingmakers, both Netanyahu and Eisenkot have ruled out partnering with the parties, citing a lack of shared values.

‘Difficult task’ ahead

Ehab Jabareen, a Palestinian political analyst and researcher in Israel, told Global News Insight that early exit poll projections show “a clear weakening of Netanyahu’s bloc” but cautioned against “declaring either a Netanyahu victory or the end of his political career”.

“The exit polls suggest that his bloc has lost its majority, but they also suggest that his opponents face a difficult task in building one,” he said. “If neither side can form a government, Netanyahu could remain in office as caretaker while the negotiations continue.”

Polling stations had closed at 10pm local time (20:00 GMT).

The Central Elections Committee said some 77.7 percent of eligible voters – or more than 5.69 million of about 7.33 million voters – cast their ballots in Tuesday’s election.

The figure is about 7.1 percentage points higher than the 70.63 percent recorded in the 2022 election and the highest turnout in a Knesset election since 1999, when 78.7 percent of eligible voters participated.

Earlier in the day, the committee rejected a request from Netanyahu’s Likud party to extend voting hours.