Netanyahu Victory Depends on Final Count of Ballots; Arab Party on the Edge

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to making a comeback with a projected win of 61-62 seats, if exit polls for Israel’s fifth election in three-plus are anything to go by — which they often aren’t.

According to the polls, which are often not true indicators of the end results, Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc has won the 61-seat majority needed to form a government, according to Channel 12. Channel 13 and Channel 11 predict another seat for Netanyahu’s bloc, bringing it to 62 seats.

The current government, led by Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, has been predicted to win between 54-55 seats.

All three exit polls by the broadcasters showed the Arab-majority Hadash-Ta’al securing 4 seats.

The actual results will be released on Thursday.

Netanyahu’s Likud party, which currently sits in the opposition, won between 31-33 seats, according to Channel 11 and Channel 13 respectively.

Lapid’s Yesh Atid party won between 22-24.

As Breitbart News’ Joel Pollak writes:

The last several years have been unusually unstable in Israeli politics, whose parliamentary system was already subject to frequent disruption. Netanyahu is on trial for several corruption charges that his supporters consider flimsy and abusive; indeed, prosecutors have struggled to prove their case in court, and have sparked public alarm over their tactics.

But the allegations have haunted him for years, and have made it more difficult for him to form lasting political alliances, amid defections and the emergence of new rivals.

Netanyahu’s opponents believe the Likud leader should stay away from the Knesset until his trial is over. They are also concerned that together with his allies, he will enact broad reforms for the country’s left-wing judiciary.

The biggest surprise was by newcomer, the Religious Zionism party, led by Betzalel Smotrich, which exit polls predict winning 14-15 seats. Scenes of jubilation broke out at the headquarters of Otzma Yehudit, led firebrand right-wing politician Itamar Ben-Gvir who joined Smotrich to run on a joint ticket.

Smotrich said: “Today Religious Zionism made history with the largest win ever for a religious Zionist party since the founding of the state, joining what appears to be a victory for the nationalist camp. Now we wait patiently for the official results so we can God willing safely form a right-wing, nationalist, Jewish, and Zionist government.”

The anti-Israel Arab Balad party, whose stated goal is to create “state for all its citizens” and thus eliminate the Jewish state, will not cross the electoral threshold according to the exit polls. However, that may change in the coming hours and if it does, will impact the whole picture — not least of all by nixing the Netanyahu-held majority.

Voter turnout was the highest in more than two decades, with 66.3% percent of Israel’s eligible voters casting their ballots by 8 p.m – two hours before the polling stations closed.