The B’Yachad party, led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, was expected to win 12 seats, according to data released by the Central Election Committee on Wednesday.
The projections would make B’Yachad the third-largest slate in the opposition bloc, following Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar and Yousef Jabareen's Joint List.
The results put the party broadly in line with pre-election expectations, although its projected support remained well below the 24 seats Yesh Atid won independently in the November 2022 election.
Television exit polls published after polling stations closed initially projected B'Yachad to receive 12-13 seats, with the opposition bloc receiving 49-51 seats, according to data from Channels 11, 12, and 13.
B'Yachad officials react to exit polls
Former prime minister Yair Lapid said the Netanyahu bloc had suffered a “crushing defeat” following the publication of television exit polls at 10:12 p.m. on election night. “This is a total collapse and the public has told them to go home,” Lapid added.
The Jerusalem Post was present at the B'Yachad headquarters when the exit polls were revealed.
The atmosphere was lackluster, with a relatively small turnout and low energy. No one celebrated the 12-14 seat tally, and attendees seemed preoccupied with the high number of Arab seats and the predicted success of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayhu over Eisenkot in terms of seats.