First Exit Polls From Israel: Stalemate, Blue and White Largest Party
The first exit polls were published shortly after polls closed at 10 PM Tuesday night.
According to an exit poll published by Channel 12 News, the Blue and White party emerged as the largest party with 34 Knesset seats. The Likud party finished a close second with 33 seats.
The Joint Arab List finished third with 11 seats. Yamina and Yisrael Beyteinu both received eight seats, as did haredi parties Shas and United Torah Judaism.
Labor and the Democratic Union received five seats each.
The Otzma Yehudit party failed to clear the electoral threshold.
According to these initial results, the right-wing bloc received 57 seats without the Yisrael Beyteinu party, and the left-wing-Arab bloc received 55 seats.
A Channel 13 exit poll showed the left overtaking the right with 58 seats compared to 54, while a Kan poll showed Blue and White tied with Likud at 32 seats apiece and the right ahead by two seats.
All three polls show neither side able to form a coalition without Avigdor Liberman’s Yisrael Beyteinu party.
