October 28, 2026
The closing of the polls in Israel was followed by the former Chief of Staff and leader of the Yashar Party, Gadi Eisenkot, entering the race to form the government early, announcing his intention to immediately begin efforts to overthrow the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and form what he called the “Zionist mobilization government.”
In his first comment on the election results, Eisenkot considered that the results of the opinion polls reflect a “complete lack of confidence” in Netanyahu and his government on the part of the “Zionist majority” and the majority of citizens, stressing that he will work to “implement the will of the people.”
Eisenkot’s statements came in the wake of the publication of the first opinion polls of the results of television samples on Israeli channels (11, 12, and 13), which showed a slight superiority for the opposition coalition, obtaining between 52 and 53 seats, compared to about 50 seats for Netanyahu’s coalition, out of 120 seats in the Knesset.
Despite this relative progress, Eisenkot’s camp is still below the threshold of 61 seats necessary to achieve the majority required to form a government, which leaves the identity of the next prime minister pending.
If these indicators remain stable after the official vote counting is completed, it is expected that the political scene will witness complex and long-term coalition negotiations, as Eizenkot seeks to attract the support of additional blocs and parties to reach the required parliamentary quorum, so that the political confrontation will move from the ballot boxes to the backstage of the alliances, awaiting the official decision.
