Netanyahu and rival each claim mandate after tight Israel election

JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and rival Gadi Eisenkot each vowed on Wednesday to form a government after both came up short in the first election since the October 7, 2023 attack traumatised the country. Voters turned out Tuesday in the highest numbers in decades to give their verdict on the divisive rule of Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister who has pushed the country sharply to the right and unleashed a wave of wars in response to the Hamas attack.

Exit polls showed Eisenkot, a former military chief and political novice, and his opposition bloc neck and neck with Netanyahu's hard-right camp and both well away from the threshold for a majority in parliament. The strongest gains came from Arab Israeli parties whose voters turned out in soaring numbers against Netanyahu, who has relentlessly warned that the minority would dilute the Jewish nationalist direction in which he has taken Israel.

Netanyahu, greeting cheering supporters at a Jerusalem convention centre after 3:00 am (0100 GMT), called for a "strong government of the right" and said that the "Jewish and Zionist majority must unite". The 77-year-old prime minister was unusually brief and did not directly claim victory.

Instead, he listed leaders Israel has killed under his orders and again hinted that he was ready for a third bombing campaign against Iran alongside US President Donald Trump, his close ally. "Israel has a unique opportunity with our partner President Trump to forever eliminate the existential threat of Iran," Netanyahu said.

Eisenkot, speaking to his own supporters in Tel Aviv, issued a veiled warning to Netanyahu, who observers say could use a war to push for a unity government. "Netanyahu, don't you dare use Israel's security for your political needs," Eisenkot said. Addressing Israel's security establishment, Eisenkot said that they served the state and not Netanyahu, calling him "a caretaker prime minister, without a mandate or the people’s trust". - 'Public has voted for change' - Eisenkot shares many of Netanyahu's views on security and has backed the Gaza offensive following October 7 that has reduced the territory to rubble.

But Eisenkot has vowed to create a more inclusive atmosphere inside Israel and to rein in extremist settlers in the West Bank who have attacked Palestinians with virtual impunity. After turnout of nearly 78 percent, the highest since 1999, Eisenkot said it would be a mistake to hold a second election and vowed to work "swiftly" to form a government.

"The public has voted for change," Eisenkot said. "A worthy leader would accept the people's vote of no confidence and announce his retirement from political life today." The three mainstream Israeli television networks in exit polls gave the two blocs each around 51 seats -- well below the 61 needed to govern -- after initially giving an edge to the opposition.

Israeli Arab lists were projected to win 17 to 18 seats, a sharp gain, with some Israeli Arab communities reporting near-universal turnout driven by outrage to often derogatory rhetoric against them by Netanyahu's far-right allies.