Netanyahu defiant despite no clear winner in Israel election

• No clear winner : Israel’s election results are still coming in but have so far resulted in a tight race , with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main rival, ex-military chief Gadi Eisenkot, within reach of the 61 seats needed for a governing majority in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset.

• Path to power: It’ll take several days to finalize the vote count. With more than 50 % of the vote counted, Channel 12 and Ynet projected Netanyahu’s bloc taking 55 seats, a drop from the 68-seat coalition he led in the outgoing Knesset. His Likud party is still set to be the largest single party.

• Complicated route: Parties opposed to Netanyahu have a clear majority, on course for 65 seats, according to the latest Ynet and Channel 12 projections. But they are fractured and divided between right, left and center, and between Jewish and Arab parties.

Arab voters turn out in record numbers. Entering government will still be difficult

Supporters of Israel’s Arab Joint List party celebrated at its election headquarters in Nazareth, with Arab parties projected to gain a record number of seats from Tuesday’s election.

Party leader Yousef Jabareen commended a strong turnout among the community, saying it was “unprecedented and historic in our Arab society.” Arab voters make up about 20% of the Israeli electorate, but have traditionally voted at lower rates than Jewish Israelis.

That voter surge was driven by an urgent desire to dismantle Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, which includes hardline ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.

That sentiment was underscored by chants of “Ben-Gvir, go home” at the Joint List election headquarters.

Jabareen said exit polls showed Arab-led parties can “make a difference.”

He vowed to be a “safety net in the face of crime in our society, a safety net in the face of dangerous racism, a safety net in the face of the demolition of homes and entire villages.”

Some context: Entering government could still be tricky for Arab parties. Between them, the Joint List and Raam are projected to secure 17-19 seats in the 120-seat Knessett, their strongest showing in history.

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party is projected to win 21-23 seats.

However, Eisenkot has set conditions for any partner to join his government, including recognizing Israel as a Jewish state and recognizing Hamas as a terrorist organization that must be dismantled, terms most Arab lawmakers are unlikely to accept.

Moreover, two of his opposition allies – Avigdor Lieberman and Naftali Bennett – have ruled out forming a government with the Arab parties altogether.

Netanyahu's party loses seats, but there is no outright majority yet. Here's the latest

It’s now Wednesday morning in Israel, and the election – one of the most consequential in years – is over. Next begins the real work of counting votes and forming a government.

It’ll take several days to finalize the vote count, but exit polls indicate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party has taken a blow – though there’s not yet a clear winner with an outright majority.

Israel’s elections produced no clear winner Tuesday night, exit polls showed, with neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main rival Gadi Eisenkot within reach of the 61 seats needed for a governing majority in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset. CNN's Jeremy Diamond reports.

Here’s what to know:

Netanyahu stumbles: Netanyahu’s bloc of ultra-Orthodox and far-right allies has lost its majority. Projections from the Central Election Committee see Netanyahu’s party collapsing from 68 seats in the Knesset to 56. His Likud party will likely still be the largest single party, but the results represent a crash in public support.

‘Decisive majority’: Speaking in Jerusalem early Wednesday, Netanyahu said the results still showed his bloc had the support of a “decisive majority among the Zionist and Jewish public,” despite the loss in seats. He slammed Arab parties as “anti-Zionist” and rejected the idea of working with them to form a government. He also thanked US President Donald Trump for his support in the war with Iran.

Opposition bloc: Netanyahu’s biggest rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, is narrowly behind, with his bloc projected to secure 48 seats. “The public has voted for change,” he said. But he doesn’t have a clear path to a governing majority yet, either.

Arab parties surge: Arab parties Joint List and Raam are projected to win a record 19 seats – the largest Arab representation ever. They could play a key role in building a coalition to form a new government. But what that could look like remains unclear.

Record turnout: Nearly 5.7 million voters cast their ballot out of approximately 7.3 million eligible voters – meaning a turnout of 77.7%, the highest percentage since 1999, according to the Central Elections Committee.

What’s next: Once the votes are finalized, each elected party will recommend their choice for prime minister to the president, who will select one person to try to form a government – based on who has the best chance of building a viable coalition. The way things look now, that will likely be Eisenkot, who will have four to six weeks to negotiate with other parties and try to cobble together a majority in the Knesset. But he could also fail, and Netanyahu could be given a chance to try. If he fails too, and if the Knesset cannot put forth another candidate, Israel could hold elections all over again.

Why this matters: This election has been widely viewed as a referendum on Netanyahu, and whether Israel keeps moving in the nationalistic, conservative and religious direction – or changes course. For many voters, this is the first chance to pass judgment on the leadership that presided over October 7 failures, and to decide who should lead the country in conflict.

• 没有明显的赢家：以色列的选举结果仍在统计中，但到目前为止，选情胶着，总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡和他的主要竞争对手、前军事首脑加迪·艾森科特都未能获得在拥有 120 个席位的议会（以色列议会）中获得执政多数所需的 61 个席位。

• 权力之路：最终计票结果需要数天时间才能确定。目前已统计超过50%的选票，以色列第12频道和Ynet电视台预测内塔尼亚胡领导的联盟将获得55个席位，较他在上届议会领导的68席联盟有所下降。他的利库德集团仍有望成为议会第一大党。

• 选情复杂：根据Ynet和Channel 12的最新预测，反对内塔尼亚胡的各党派拥有明显多数席位，有望赢得65个席位。但这些党派内部存在分歧，分为右翼、左翼和中间派，以及犹太政党和阿拉伯政党。

阿拉伯选民投票率创历史新高。但进入政府仍然困难重重。

以色列阿拉伯联合名单党的支持者在其位于拿撒勒的竞选总部举行庆祝活动，预计阿拉伯政党将在周二的选举中获得创纪录的席位。

党魁优素福·贾巴林对该社区的高投票率表示赞赏，称这“在我们阿拉伯社会是史无前例的”。阿拉伯选民约占以色列选民的20%，但传统上他们的投票率低于犹太裔以色列人。

选民投票热情高涨，是因为人们迫切希望解散总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡的右翼联盟，该联盟包括伊塔马尔·本-格维尔和贝扎莱尔·斯莫特里奇等强硬派部长。

在联合名单选举总部，“本·格维尔，回家去”的口号声更加凸显了这种情绪。

贾巴林表示，出口民调显示阿拉伯人领导的政党可以“发挥作用”。

他誓言要成为“面对社会犯罪的安全网，面对危险的种族主义的安全网，面对房屋和整个村庄被拆毁的安全网”。

背景：阿拉伯政党进入政府仍然可能面临挑战。联合名单党和拉姆党预计将在120个席位的以色列议会中获得17至19个席位，这将是它们历史上取得的最佳成绩。

加迪·艾森科特的亚沙尔党预计将赢得 21-23 个席位。

然而，艾森科特为任何加入其政府的伙伴设定了条件，包括承认以色列是犹太国家，承认哈马斯是必须解散的恐怖组织，这些条件大多数阿拉伯议员不太可能接受。

此外，他的两位反对派盟友——阿维格多·利伯曼和纳夫塔利·贝内特——已经完全排除了与阿拉伯政党组建政府的可能性。

内塔尼亚胡的政党失去了一些席位，但尚未获得绝对多数席位。以下是最新消息。

现在是以色列的周三上午，这场近年来影响最为深远的选举之一已经结束。接下来，真正的计票和组阁工作才刚刚开始。

最终计票结果需要几天时间才能确定，但​​出口民调显示，总理本杰明·内塔尼亚胡的政党遭受了打击——尽管目前还没有获得绝对多数的明显获胜者。

以色列周二晚间的选举结果显示，出口民调显示，此次选举没有产生明显的赢家。总理本雅明·内塔尼亚胡和他的主要竞争对手加迪·艾森科特都未能获得在120个席位的议会（以色列议会）中组建执政多数所需的61个席位。CNN记者杰里米·戴蒙德报道。

以下是您需要了解的内容：

内塔尼亚胡遭遇挫折：他领导的极端正统派和极右翼盟友联盟失去了多数席位。中央选举委员会预测，内塔尼亚胡所在的政党在以色列议会的席位将从68席锐减至56席。他的利库德集团可能仍将是议会第一大党，但选举结果表明其公众支持率大幅下滑。

“决定性多数”：内塔尼亚胡周三清晨在耶路撒冷发表讲话时表示，尽管席位有所减少，但选举结果仍然表明他的联盟在“犹太复国主义者和犹太公众中拥有决定性多数”的支持。他抨击阿拉伯政党是“反犹太复国主义”的，并拒绝与他们合作组建政府。他还感谢美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在对伊战争中给予的支持。

反对派阵营：内塔尼亚胡最大的竞争对手、前军事首长加迪·艾森科特目前略微落后，他的阵营预计将获得48个席位。“民众投票支持变革，”他说道。但他目前也尚未找到获得执政多数席位的明确途径。

阿拉伯政党席位激增：阿拉伯政党联合名单（Joint List）和拉姆（Raam）预计将赢得创纪录的19个席位，这将是阿拉伯政党在议会中获得的最大席位。它们可能在组建新政府的联合政府中发挥关键作用。但最终的政府构成仍不明朗。

创纪录的投票率：据中央选举委员会称，在约 730 万合格选民中，近 570 万选民投了票——这意味着投票率为 77.7%，是自 1999 年以来的最高百分比。

接下来：一旦投票结果最终确定，每个当选政党将向总统推荐其总理人选，总统将从中选出一人尝试组建政府——前提是该人最有可能组建一个可行的联合政府。就目前的情况来看，这个人选很可能是艾森科特，他将有四到六周的时间与其他政党进行谈判，力图在议会中获得多数席位。但他也可能失败，届时内塔尼亚胡或许有机会再次尝试。如果内塔尼亚胡也失败了，且议会无法提出其他候选人，以色列可能需要重新举行大选。

重要性：此次选举被广泛视为对内塔尼亚胡的一次全民公投，决定着以色列是继续朝着民族主义、保守主义和宗教化的方向发展，还是会改变方向。对许多选民而言，这是他们第一次有机会评判导致10月7日事件失败的领导层，并决定谁应该在冲突中领导这个国家。