Yashar party leader Gadi Eisenkot on Tuesday night issued a statement at press time declaring victory, saying the preliminary voting results could give him the first right to form a government to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
He had not yet spoken publicly about his plans, with coordination taking place behind the scenes with the leaders of the other parties in his bloc.
How did Eisenkot perform in initial exit polls?
Data from the Central Election Committee (CEC) showed his opposition bloc at 49 seats. Eisenkot's party, Yashar, is projected to enter the Knesset with 22 seats, according to the CEC.
Channel 12 television exit polls showed his political bloc trailing the Netanyahu bloc 49-52, while Channels 11 and 13 projected the opposition bloc tying Netanyahu's bloc at 51 seats each. Exit polls from Channels 11, 12, and 13 projected Eisenkot's Yashar party to win 21-22 seats.
Channel 13's television exit polls projected Netanyahu's bloc would tie with the opposition bloc, with both parties earning 51 seats.
Eisenkot headquarters erupted into cheers when they heard the initial results of the balance of the blocs, even as there were a few seconds of nervousness when they saw that Netanyahu had the largest party.
In Israel's political system, the largest bloc usually gets the first right to try to form a government, and also can likely take control over the Knesset pending formation of a government.
However, Eisenkot's slow-walking a public appearance showed the sensitivity of the challenges ahead of him, including the need to convince his coalition partners, most notably Avigdor Liberman, to accept a government or minority support from Israeli-Arab parties, which Liberman had refused during the campaign.
Some commentators said Liberman might reconsider due to the high voter turnout, but the Yisrael Beytenu party leader is notoriously determined to stick to certain principles.
Eisenkot faces difficulty forming government as Arab parties soar
Earlier Tuesday, Eisenkot was hoping to have an even larger victory, but even then, due to the size of the Israeli-Arab parties, which are not specifically affiliated with a bloc, Eisenkot was not expected to be able to easily form the next government even if he won more votes than the Netanyahu right-wing bloc.
Eisenkot's campaign on Tuesday started early in the morning at Ofakim and Nir Oz of the Gaza Strip corridor, calling attention to the failures of the past government in preventing Hamas's October 7 invasion.
Eisenkot then traveled further north to Ashdod, with other stops along the way, before he was due to vote in Herzliya at 1:45 p.m. and eventually make it to his election-night headquarters at the National Sports Complex in Tel Aviv.
Already by late morning, Yashar had filed complaints with the Israeli Election Commission complaining of alleged systematic vandalism and destruction of ballots carrying the parties' names at various voting sites.
Eisenkot's largest support comes from voters who blame Netanyahu for October 7 or who blame him and his bloc for failing to draft the haredi sector into the IDF even after over 1,000 Israeli soldiers died in recent years.
Yashar officials react to exit polls
Eisenkot said the public had voted for change and against Benjamin Netanyahu continuing as prime minister, as he pledged to work to form a government committed to military service.
“We made history,” Eisenkot said in a speech at the party’s headquarters in Tel Aviv following the publication of exit polls.
“We made history. This morning, the people of Israel went to a referendum on the leadership that would lead Israel in the coming years. Tonight, we received an answer: The public has decided in favor of change. The coalition of failures has lost the people’s trust, and the Israeli public voted against Netanyahu continuing to serve as prime minister.”
Eisenkot said the “era of draft evasion, failure, and lies” was over, adding that the results should be seen as a victory for the entire country rather than one political camp over another.
He also addressed the heads of Israel’s security establishment, describing Netanyahu as a caretaker prime minister “without a mandate or public trust.” Eisenkot urged security officials to serve the state and the interests of Israeli citizens, telling them they had his backing against any attempt to challenge them.
“Netanyahu, do not dare use Israel’s security for your political needs,” Eisenkot said.