Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said early Wednesday that the opposition's celebrations were "premature" after initial exit polls from Tuesday's Knesset elections showed the opposition gaining a slight lead over the right-wing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Writing on X, Saar said: "The celebrations on the left are premature. The arrogance of biased commentators is ridiculous. It seems that one thing is fairly clear: Likud, led by Netanyahu, is the largest party in Israel." He accompanied his post with a video showing Likud's first electoral victory in 1977.
Polling stations for Israel's 26th Knesset election closed on Tuesday evening.
According to figures from Israel's Central Elections Committee, around 7.33 million voters were eligible to cast ballots.
Polling stations closed at 10 p.m. following a contest for the Knesset's 120 seats. Netanyahu sought to remain in office, while opposition forces entered the election seeking to end his rule and form a new government.
The election is held under a proportional representation system, under which an electoral list must receive at least 3.25% of valid votes to participate in the allocation of seats. Surplus-vote agreements between lists also contribute to determining the distribution of remaining seats.
While exit polls show Eisenkot's camp leading in some projections, they do not determine who will become the next prime minister. The formation of the next government will depend on the final distribution of Knesset seats and the ability of the competing blocs to secure sufficient support within parliament.
