It’s just after 6am in Tel Aviv where Israelis are waking up to exit polls that show no clear victor in yesterday’s elections, with uncertainty guaranteed at this point.
asserted
uncertainty → ’ → point
The polls published by Israel’s major TV networks show Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing bloc tied with the opposition grouping led by Gadi Eisenkot on 51 seats each, short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority coalition government.
asserted
bloc → publish → government
Earlier exit polls had Eisenkot winning most seats in the Knesset by a slight margin.
asserted
Eisenkot → have → margin
Israeli exit polls are often revised after publication and are notoriously imprecise, with the final count often swinging by several seats.
asserted
count → revise → seats
Voter turnout surged to the highest level in more than two decades, underscoring the stakes of an election that has been labelled the most important in the country’s history.
asserted
that → surge → history
More than 77% of eligible voters cast a ballot, according to Israel’s central elections committee, about 7 percentage points higher than in 2022.
uncertain
% → cast → 2022
Final counting is ongoing, with more than 30% of the votes tabulated so far.
asserted
counting → tabulate → votes
The Palestinian parties are projected to dramatically increase their representation in the Knesset, with predictions they could win as many as 18 seats, up from 10.
uncertain
they → project → 10
Experts have said that if Eisenkot falls short of a majority, as the exit polls suggest, he would be obliged to sit down to talk to the Palestinian groupings, the Joint List and Ra’am, to try to form a government – which could take weeks.
uncertain
which → say → weeks
It is also possible that Eisenkot could try to govern as a minority government, with informal vote-by-vote agreements that would keep the new coalition afloat.
uncertain
that → try → coalition
Netanyahu took the stage at a post-election rally in Jerusalem just after 3am, telling his supporters official results will show that “Likud is the largest party in Israel”.
asserted
Likud → take → Israel
He told his supporters that the country must “establish a strong, right-wing national government” – adding that a government that relies on the support of Palestinian parties must not be formed.
asserted
that → tell → parties
Eisenkot told cheering supporters in Tel Aviv that the “Israeli public has voted against Netanyahu’s service as Israel’s prime minister …
asserted
public → tell → minister
a worthy leader would have accepted the people’s non-confidence and announced today his retirement from politics.”
asserted
leader → accept → politics
In his speech, he also warned Netanyahu not to “use Israel’s security” for political ends, playing on fears that the prime minister could use this period of uncertainty to launch a new attack on Iran.
uncertain
minister → warn → Iran
The exit polls were released after a last-ditch effort by Netanyahu and several other parties to keep polling stations open beyond their 10pm deadline was rejected by the Central Elections Committee.
asserted
effort → release → Committee
The prime minister suggested publicly that efforts were being made by the “left and Arabs” to steal the election, a claim rejected by the committee, which said it had seen no evidence of systematic tampering.
uncertain
it → suggest → tampering
Supporters of the opposition bloc breathed a sigh of relief after the first exit polls were announced, but as the night has worn on nervousness has grown on both sides.
asserted
nervousness → breathe → sides
With exit polls shifting to put the two sides on equal footing, Agence France-Presse is reporting that voters like former Hamas hostage Ohad Ben Ami have expressed alarm that Netanyahu could come out ahead.
uncertain
Netanyahu → shift → alarm
“Three years ago, the government abandoned us,” he said.
asserted
he → abandon → us
An Israeli citizen should never have spent a year and a half in Hamas tunnels when deals [with Hamas] were on the table.”
Netanyahu kept supporters waiting until past 3am in a Jerusalem convention centre.
asserted
Netanyahu → spend → centre
Known for his long, passionate speeches, he was unusually brief.
asserted
he → know → speeches
Ari Marx, holding a large sign bearing the prime minister’s image, said he was not “scared” of the results or of another war with Iran, which Netanyahu has threatened.
“Either Bibi is going to win or there’s going to be a new election,” he said, using Netanyahu’s nickname, doubting anyone else could form a government.
uncertain
anyone → hold → government
It’s just after 6am in Tel Aviv where Israelis are waking up to exit polls that show no clear victor in yesterday’s elections, with uncertainty guaranteed at this point.
asserted
uncertainty → ’ → point
The polls published by Israel’s major TV networks show Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing bloc tied with the opposition grouping led by Gadi Eisenkot on 51 seats each, short of the 61 seats needed to form a majority coalition government.
asserted
bloc → publish → government
Earlier exit polls had Eisenkot winning most seats in the Knesset by a slight margin.
asserted
Eisenkot → have → margin
Israeli exit polls are often revised after publication and are notoriously imprecise, with the final count often swinging by several seats.
asserted
count → revise → seats
Voter turnout surged to the highest level in more than two decades, underscoring the stakes of an election that has been labelled the most important in the country’s history.
asserted
that → surge → history
More than 77% of eligible voters cast a ballot, according to Israel’s central elections committee, about 7 percentage points higher than in 2022.
uncertain
% → cast → 2022
Final counting is ongoing, with more than 30% of the votes tabulated so far.
asserted
% → tabulate → votes
The Palestinian parties are projected to dramatically increase their representation in the Knesset, with predictions they could win as many as 18 seats, up from 10.
uncertain
they → project → 10
Experts have said that if Eisenkot falls short of a majority, as the exit polls suggest, he would be obliged to sit down to talk to the Palestinian groupings, the Joint List and Ra’am, to try to form a government – which could take weeks.
uncertain
which → say → weeks
It is also possible that Eisenkot could try to govern as a minority government, with informal vote-by-vote agreements that would keep the new coalition afloat.
uncertain
that → try → coalition
Netanyahu took the stage at a post-election rally in Jerusalem just after 3am, telling his supporters official results will show that “Likud is the largest party in Israel”.
asserted
Likud → take → Israel
He told his supporters that the country must “establish a strong, right-wing national government” – adding that a government that relies on the support of Palestinian parties must not be formed.
asserted
that → tell → parties
Eisenkot told cheering supporters in Tel Aviv that the “Israeli public has voted against Netanyahu’s service as Israel’s prime minister …
asserted
public → tell → minister
a worthy leader would have accepted the people’s non-confidence and announced today his retirement from politics.”
asserted
leader → accept → politics
In his speech, he also warned Netanyahu not to “use Israel’s security” for political ends, playing on fears that the prime minister could use this period of uncertainty to launch a new attack on Iran.
uncertain
minister → warn → Iran
The exit polls were released after a last-ditch effort by Netanyahu and several other parties to keep polling stations open beyond their 10pm deadline was rejected by the Central Elections Committee.
asserted
effort → release → Committee
The prime minister suggested publicly that efforts were being made by the “left and Arabs” to steal the election, a claim rejected by the committee, which said it had seen no evidence of systematic tampering.
uncertain
it → suggest → tampering
The Aporia
