Five key takeaways from Israel’s parliamentary elections

Exit polls from Israel’s election show a neck-and-neck race between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main rival, Gadi Eisenkot, with neither likely to secure a clear path to a governing majority.Tuesday’s vote was largely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s leadership and response to the Hamas-led attacks of October 7, 2023, and the subsequent genocidal war on Gaza.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Lebanon’s lost olive season: harvesting olives under drones and warplaneslist 2 of 3Arab towns in Israel celebrate historic Knesset gains with fireworkslist 3 of 3Smotrich dances in Israel despite far-right declineend of listIt also came as Israel’s pogroms in the occupied West Bank have escalated, and amid mounting tensions with several of its neighbours, many of whom it has attacked in the past three years.Here are five key takeaways from the Israeli elections so far:Exit polls show a dead heat between Netanyahu, rival Eisenkot blocLate-night exit polls from Israel’s Channel 12 broadcaster projected the Netanyahu bloc would win 52 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, or Israeli parliament. Netanyahu was edging out the opposition bloc led by former Israeli military chief ...