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Activists celebrate at the Yashar party headquarters in Tel Aviv as exit polls show the opposition bloc winning more seats than Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's bloc, on October 27, 2026. (Matan Siegel/Times of Israel)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s current right-wing coalition was punished by Israeli voters in Tuesday’s election, with exit polls indicating it fell well short of a majority in the Knesset, but the anti-Netanyahu opposition parties don’t appear to have won enough seats to form an alternative government, unless key leaders of the bloc violate campaign promises against partnership with Arab-majority factions.

Initial exit polls from the three major networks — Channel 11, Channel 12 and Channel 13 — showed the pro-Netanyahu bloc securing just 50 seats in the next Knesset, while the Jewish-led opposition parties won 52 seats — both blocs falling below a majority of 61 seats in the 120-member parliament.

However, those exit polls were updated overnight…