Netanyahu Bloc Moves Ahead in Updated Exit Poll but Remains Short of Majority

Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc moved ahead of the bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot in an updated exit poll after Israel's parliamentary election, but neither side was projected to secure a majority. The revised projection early on October 28 gave Netanyahu's bloc 52 seats, Eisenkot's bloc 49 and the Arab parties 19. A majority requires 61 seats. Netanyahu addressed supporters at Binyanei Ha'uma in Jerusalem overnight, thanking his coalition partners and calling for a strong national right-wing government. He cautioned that the projections were not the counted outcome, saying: "We are still waiting for the actual results." He said those results were expected during the coming day or two. The projected strength of the Arab parties also put cooperation with them at the center of the post-election debate. Hadash general secretary Amjad Shbita rejected conditions Eisenkot had set for cooperation with the Joint List. Those conditions included recognizing Israel as Jewish and democratic, accepting the Declaration of Independence's values, accepting conscription for Arab Israeli citizens and condemning Hamas as a terrorist organization. Shbita said: "We will negotiate as equals because we need each other." Israelis voted on October 27 for the 26th Knesset. Earlier exit-poll projections had given Eisenkot's bloc a slight advantage; the overnight revision reversed that projected ordering. The figures remained polling estimates rather than final election results, and did not establish which parties would be able to assemble a governing majority.