Israel's major television networks released exit polls as voting closed in the country's election, and the polls showed no clear winner, CBS News reported. CBS News senior reporter Dov Lieber reported on the results.
Axios reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's far-right coalition is projected to lose its parliamentary majority, while his opponent Gadi Eisenkot's bloc is short of 61 seats. According to the Axios report by Barak Ravid, the exit polls showed Eisenkot's bloc with 52 to 53 seats, Netanyahu's with 50, and Arab parties with 17 to 18.
PBS NewsHour, in a report by Associated Press writer Tia Goldenberg, described the outcome as "no clear winner" and said that final results are expected in the coming days and may vary from the exit polls. The headline of that report framed the outcome around Netanyahu's fate, which it described as hanging in the balance.
The reports agree that the exit polls do not produce a clear winner but differ in emphasis. Axios focused on Netanyahu's projected loss of a majority, while PBS NewsHour's headline centered on Netanyahu's fate.
The reports do not say how the final tally would translate into a governing coalition. Until final results are published, the exit poll figures remain projections, and the PBS NewsHour report notes that they may change.
Sources: Axios: Israeli exit polls: Netanyahu bloc loses, but Eisenkot's short of clear majority; PBS NewsHour: No clear winner in Israeli election, exit polls indicate, as Netanyahu's fate hangs in the balance; CBS News: No clear winner in Israeli election, exit polls show.