— ‘At 10pm Jerusalem time, three television stations published their exit polls by veteran pollsters showing a stinging loss for Netanyahu’s current government. In all three, his current coalition won just 50 out of 120 parliamentary seats, with 70 for the opposition.
…
Then the counting began. Within hours, Netanyahu’s bloc staged a reversal, pulling significantly ahead of the four opposition Zionist parties many hoped would replace him. The Arab parties retained a strong showing but lower than the original heady projections. But three of the four Zionist parties preferred to exclude them for coalition-building purposes. As a result, even if the total opposition vote outweighs support for the outgoing government, Netanyahu might have done it again.’
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/oct/28/israel-election-exit-poll-netanyahu-survives
the GuardianA bitter night in Israel for all who craved a fresh start. Netanyahu survives for now – and we are more divided than ever | Dahlia ScheindlinAfter an exit poll that gave the opposition hope, reality dawned. With all the votes on the right, the prospects for the left and centre now look bleak, says Tel Aviv-based political analyst Dahlia Scheindlin