Netanyahu holds lead but lacks a clear path to power in Israel

Benjamin Netanyahu took the lead in Israel’s fourth election in less than two years last night, according to exit polls, but had no clear path to forming a coalition government.

The three exit polls, revealed by Israeli broadcasters, all showed that the prime minister’s Likud party had emerged as the largest with 30-33 seats.

However, he lacked a clear 61-seat majority required to form a government and is likely to need support from right-wing and ultra-orthodox parties.

Mr Netanyahu’s main rival, the centrist party leader Yair Lapid, was trailing behind him with only around 16 seats last night. However, the polls suggested that he could potentially form a cross-party alliance against Mr Netanyahu, depending on the final results.

The exit polls, from Israel’s fourth election in just two years, are unlikely to raise hopes of breaking the country’s bitter political deadlock.

Initial reports said that turnout in the election was around 60pc, the lowest rate since 2009, in a sign that Israelis have grown weary from successive elections.

Mr Netanyahu warned his supporters that turnout was too low, and claimed the media was trying to lull right-wing voters into a false sense of security.

“I am asking all the Likudniks to go and vote Likud, we are down two seats,” he said. “The press is trying to put us to sleep, to tell us it’s in the bag.”

Voting in Tel Aviv, his centrist rival Mr Lapid warned that Mr Netanyahu would preside over a “racist, homophobic government” if he continues as Israel’s longest serving prime minister.

Some Likud supporters gathered at tents in Jerusalem where they waved Israel’s blue and white flag and brandished posters featuring their beaming prime minister.

His “back to life” slogan refers to Israel recently leaving what is hoped to be its final lockdown thanks to the success of the vaccine drive, which has fully protected half the population against Covid.

But some voters said the potential rise of the far-right, and tensions between secular and religious society, had played a bigger role in deciding their vote.

George Eltman (75) said that Mr Netanyahu had “done a lot of good things for Israel” but felt a new prime minister was long overdue. This prompted him to vote for Yesh Atid, which claims it is better placed to enforce rules in ultra-orthodox communities than Mr Netanyahu, who in the past has relied on their support to form coalitions.

Exit polls suggested that the right-wing Yamina party, led by Naftali Bennett, was a potential kingmaker that could hand Mr Netanyahu a narrow majority.

But it was unclear last night whether Mr Bennett would choose to back Mr Netanyahu, his former mentor, or switch to the anti-Netanyahu coalition. During the campaign, Mr Netanyahu devoted much of his energy to courting Arab voters, but this did not appear to have resulted in much greater support last night.

Mr Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, also hopes that his hugely successful vaccination drive, which has fully inoculated 50pc of the population against Covid, will hand him victory.

Mr Bennett’s Yamina party won between seven and eight seats, the exit polls said, while new right-wing rival Gideon Sa’ar was only projected to secure around five.

Mr Sa’ar insisted he would never go into coalition with Mr Netanyahu. Mr Bennett said: “I will only do what is good for Israel” in response to speculation. 

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]