For now, Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to hold on to power after a stronger-then-expected performance in Israel's elections.
The country's longest-serving prime minister, and one of the world's most controversial leaders, defied the predictions of pollsters and markets with his performance on Tuesday.
While he's set to fall short of a majority, his bloc will likely win 53 seats in the 120-seat parliament, more than the 49 for the main opposition group headed by Gadi Eisenkot, a former general. Netanyahu's party, Likud, saw its vote drop from the last elections in 2022, but it is still the most popular party this time around.
Also Read | Layoffs Are Rising In Tech, But These Skills Are Helping People Unlock Better Pay
-
NDTV Profit Ignite 2026: Experts See Opportunity In Equities, Stay Bullish For Long-Term -
Buy Right, Sit Tight Does Not Work for Individual Stocks, Says Dinshaw Irani -
'Worst Is Behind': Quant MF Sees Market Bottom, Flags 'Extreme Euphoria' In Midcaps -
India's Mutual Fund Industry Could Become A $1 Trillion Opportunity, Say Fund Managers -
'Foreign Investors Are Baraatis': Raamdeo Agrawal's Take On LTCG Tax -
Stay Invested Through Market Cycles: Raamdeo Agrawal at NDTV Profit Ignite -
Ramesh Damani Remains Bullish On India For Next 20-30 Years, Sees Bargains Amid Market Weakness -
CAS Came After A Long Consultation Process: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey AT NDTV PROFIT IGNITE -
Aim To Cut FPI Onboarding Time From Mth To Five Days: SEBI Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey AT NDTV PROFI -
'One Can Never Get Good News And Bad Share Price': S Naren, ICICI Pru Life AMC On NDTV Profit Ignite
Election officials are still to count hundreds of thousands of votes, but the result is broadly clear.
Israel may end up going to the polls again in a few months, unless Eisenkot can somehow form a coalition with Israel's Arab parties or — less likely — he convinces Netanyahu they should put their animosity aside and create a unity government. Conversely, Netanyahu may be able to convince some members of Eisenkot's bloc to join him in forming a government.
Netanyahu would “go into those elections certainly with an advantage,” Steven Cook, director of the Middle East program at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Bloomberg TV.
Photo Credit: Bloomberg
Polls had said Eisenkot's bloc would probably win, even if it was unlikely to get a majority of seats in the Knesset, Israel's parliament. Prediction markets had Eisenkot as the favorite since July, giving him a roughly 50% chance of being the next prime minister, versus 30% for Netanyahu.
And around half way through voting, it wasn't looking good for the 77-year-old leader — blamed by many Israelis for intelligence failings that enabled the Hamas attack on Israel in October 2023. Israel's election commission said turnout was close to the highest on record, which analysts took to be bad for the incumbent far-right government and good for Eisenkot.
Eisenkot's odds surged to almost 70% on Polymarket and the shekel headed for its biggest gain since mid-2025, a sign traders saw the opposition as having a clear pathway to forming the next government.
Netanyahu sounded almost desperate, taking to social media with incendiary comments about Arabs voting in huge numbers. He told his supporters Israel would cease to be a Jewish state if they didn't rush to the polls.
“Make sure everyone comes: grandpa, grandma, uncle and aunt, the neighbors,” Netanyahu said. “Nobody stays home. No beach, no barbecue. Go out and vote.”
The message from Netanyahu, who's led Israel for almost 20 years in total, may have worked. He's likely to take that as an endorsement of continued aggression against Iran, alongside controversial policies such as the undermining of the judiciary and support for Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.
“There was clearly a surge at the end that gave a significant advantage to Netanyahu and his coalition,” said Cook.
Photo Credit: Bloomberg
The first exit polls after voting closed at 10 p.m. looked fairly good for Eisenkot but worsened as they were updated. Forecasts that he was set to win, albeit without a majority, turned into a tie and then a victory for Netanyahu.
Netanyahu waited until around 3:15 a.m. before speaking to his supporters in Jerusalem.
ALSO READ:
He appeared jubilant and called officials from his Likud party on to the stage to sing the national anthem, after declaring “a clear, decisive” win.
That looks like an exaggeration and there's no guarantee he will be the head of the next government, whenever it's formed. But his position is looking far stronger than most people expected.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Essential Business Intelligence, Sharp Market Insights, Practical Personal Finance Advice, Daily Fuel, Gold and Silver Prices and Latest Stories — On NDTV Profit.
