The exit polls released after the end of voting in Israel’s general election show a clear majority for the right-wing block of parties, but with Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid’s Blue and White list the largest faction in the new Knesset.
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The average of exit polls from Kan, Channel 12, Channel 13, and ynet show the following picture of Knesset seats for each of the parties:
Blue and White 37
Likud 35
Labor 7
United Torah Judaism 7
Shas 7
Hadash-Ta’al 6
Union of Right-Wing Parties 5
Meretz 5
Kulanu 4
Yisrael Beiteinu 4
Raam-Balad 0
New Right 0
Zehut 0
Gesher 0
The surprise in these results is that Moshe Feiglin’s Zehut party, which did well in opinion polls before the election, has failed to pass the minimum vote threshold required to win a Knesset seat. Another notable result is that Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked’s New Right party has also failed to pass the threshold, although the pair are maintaining that the actual results could prove different, especially when serving soldiers’ votes are counted.
If these results are borne out in the actual vote count, then on the face of it incumbent prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have no difficulty in forming a new government, with approximately 62 seats for right-wing parties and 53 for center-left parties. Blue and White is claiming victory, but the leaders of Shas, Union of Right Wing Parties, and United Torah Judaism have already declared said that they will recommend to President Reuven Rivlin to invite Netanyahu to form a government. The leaders of Netanyahu and Likud’s other natural partners, Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Moshe Kahlon (Kulanu) have so far made no declaration, although Kahlon has said that he will be talking to Netanyahu.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on April 9, 2019
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