Israel held legislative elections on 27 October with a voter turnout of 77.7 percent. Exit polls from Kan 11 and Channel 13 showed the competing blocs tied at 51 seats each.
Channel 12 exit polls gave the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a 52-49 edge. Both major blocs fell short of the 61 seats required to secure a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
Far-right religious parties led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir were projected to take a combined 13 seats. Israeli Arab lists were projected to win between 17 and 18 seats.
Final results are expected on Thursday or Friday. The Israeli shekel weakened modestly on the indecisive result.
Prime Minister Netanyahu entered the election facing long-standing corruption charges, and his opponents have only managed to wrest the premiership from him once since 2009. Eisenkot opposes Palestinian statehood and says Hamas' military wing must be destroyed or dismantled.
Eisenkot stated, "Netanyahu, don’t you dare use Israel’s security for your political needs." He further told the Prime Minister, "The public has voted for change" and said, "A worthy leader would accept the people’s vote of no confidence and announce his retirement from political life today."
Eisenkot described Netanyahu as a caretaker prime minister who lacks a mandate or the people's trust. Netanyahu faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court over Gaza.
Mansour Abbas said the right had suffered a major loss. Gaza health authorities reported more than 74,000 Palestinians killed in the war.
Faten Gattas said, "We refuse the occupation and racism, and we will remain here."
