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Israel election: exit polls suggest result too close to call – live news Israel election: Gantz says he will fight to form 'unity government' as exit polls too close to call – live news
(34 minutes later)
Benny Gantz sounded a cautiously optimistic note in his speech to supporters, saying he will try to form a unity government, but is still waiting for official results to come through. pic.twitter.com/aNjvCOwKqY
Gantz is high-fiving and hugging supporters and candidates on stage.
Gantz says he will speak to “everybody” to form a coalition, including Lieberman.
“I will fight to create a national unity government,” he says. “A wide unity government.”
Gantz is calling on his political opponents to meet with him to form a better government for all citizens.
He reiterates that they need to wait patiently for results to come in.
He finishes by saying: “Last night I went to the Wailing Wall and I prayed that I would be capable to fulfil my assignment tonight.”
Speech is done, Gantz has left the stage to applause.
“According to the results, it looks like for the second time, the citizens of Israel gave their trust to us, the citizens gave their trust to unity and to respect democracy in Israel as a country that is a Jewish state and a democratic state,” says Gantz.
“We proved and I promise that starting tonight, regardless of the results, the beginning of the campaign to heal Israel society has started.”
Gantz is thanking supporters and volunteers: “You are the change,” he says.
Gantz is also thanking his family, who says have barely seen him over the last three months and his running mates, including Yair Lapid, whom he calls a friend as well as a political ally.
“We are going to have a meeting to summarise, we have to be patient. This is a long road, we took a big assignment on us and now we have to exercise patient to get the final result. It looks according to the results right now that Netanyahu did not manage to fulfil his mission.”
“The idea that is Blue and White that we started just one year ago is a valid one and it is part of Israel.”
Benny Gantz is onstage addressing supporters, saying “Of course we will wait for the real results but it looks like we stayed on our target and we did it our way” pic.twitter.com/5adUP7vH84
The crowd is chanting: “Who is this? The next prime minister!”
Benny Gantz is addressing supporters at the Blue and White election party.
“I am excited to be here tonight. Of course we will wait for the official results but the way it looks right now, we have accomplished our mission and we did it our way.”
Benny Gantz has arrived on stage. Supporters are cheering and chanting.
Yair Lapid, Gantz’s main running partner is now on stage, he says: “The citizens of Israel showed today that they are better than the politicians of Israel.”
Moshe Ya’alon, the former defence minister and current running mate of Benny Gantz says to supporters of Gantz’s Blue and White party, as they wait to hear about the outcome of today’s vote:
“We need to wait for the real results but the people said clearly what they want. They said no to lying politics, no to hate politics, no to corruption.”
Moshe Ya’alon, another running mate of Gantz’s has come on stage at the Blue and White election party.
He says Blue and White “is a clear message to bring the state of Israel back onto the tracks”.
Benny Gantz’s running mate Gabi Ashkenazi is onstage at the Blue and White election party. He is thanking volunteers from across the country and saying they are waiting for official results to come through.
Benny Gantz’s running mate Gabi Ashkenazi is addressing supporters at the Blue and White election party #israelelections2019 pic.twitter.com/RxSqWgNkzY
We are expecting the two leaders to address their supporters within the next hour.
Benny Gantz is expected onstage at his Blue and White election party any moment (someone just came onstage to test the microphone, which is being interpreted as a sign his arrival is imminent).
Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to address Likud supporters within the next hour. We’ll bring you news of both speeches when they happen.
Oliver Holmes, the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, is at the Blue and White election party and just spoke to another Blue and White candidate. He is ninth on their list so will certainly make it into parliament.Oliver Holmes, the Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent, is at the Blue and White election party and just spoke to another Blue and White candidate. He is ninth on their list so will certainly make it into parliament.
He says Blue and White’s strategy will be to form a unity government with Likud, but importantly without Netanyahu. It’s unclear whether the Likud party will drop its leader, who has served ten consecutive years.He says Blue and White’s strategy will be to form a unity government with Likud, but importantly without Netanyahu. It’s unclear whether the Likud party will drop its leader, who has served ten consecutive years.
I pressed him on it, but he stood firm, saying there cannot be a “government led by a man who has encouraged tribalism inside Israeli society”I pressed him on it, but he stood firm, saying there cannot be a “government led by a man who has encouraged tribalism inside Israeli society”
The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Oliver Holmes is at Blue and White HQ, where things are heating up after poll updates put their candidate Benny Gantz slightly ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu.The Guardian’s Jerusalem correspondent Oliver Holmes is at Blue and White HQ, where things are heating up after poll updates put their candidate Benny Gantz slightly ahead of Benjamin Netanyahu.
He says Blue and White officials told himGantz was due to speak about an hour ago. Still waiting but they appear to be preparing the stage for someone.He says Blue and White officials told himGantz was due to speak about an hour ago. Still waiting but they appear to be preparing the stage for someone.
Things are beginning to heat up at the election party of Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party, says the Guardian’s Oliver Holmes, after exit polls show a more positive result for their party. #israelelections2019 pic.twitter.com/fnoLiCBgjIThings are beginning to heat up at the election party of Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party, says the Guardian’s Oliver Holmes, after exit polls show a more positive result for their party. #israelelections2019 pic.twitter.com/fnoLiCBgjI
Hello everyone, I’m taking over from Kevin Rawlinson and will bringing you the news as it comes in overnight. Thanks for following along.Hello everyone, I’m taking over from Kevin Rawlinson and will bringing you the news as it comes in overnight. Thanks for following along.
Several exit polls have been updated and the results are not looking great for Netanyahu’s Likud party. But, we must stress, these are exit polls, not official results.Several exit polls have been updated and the results are not looking great for Netanyahu’s Likud party. But, we must stress, these are exit polls, not official results.
Channel 11 has Likud losing a seat, down to 31 seats, with Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party on 32.Channel 11 has Likud losing a seat, down to 31 seats, with Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party on 32.
Channel 11 has also updated its exit poll and it's bad for Netanyahu as well. Likud loses a seat, down now to 31 (B&W still on 32) and Joint List gains a seat. So Netanyahu coalition in that poll down to 55 seats.Channel 11 has also updated its exit poll and it's bad for Netanyahu as well. Likud loses a seat, down now to 31 (B&W still on 32) and Joint List gains a seat. So Netanyahu coalition in that poll down to 55 seats.
The Jerusalem Post reports on an updated exit poll from Channel 13, which puts Blue and White at 2 seats and Netanyahu’s Likud party on 30 seats, meaning Netanyahu’s centre-right bloc is sitting on a total of 53 seats and the Gantz’s centre-left bloc has a total of 59.The Jerusalem Post reports on an updated exit poll from Channel 13, which puts Blue and White at 2 seats and Netanyahu’s Likud party on 30 seats, meaning Netanyahu’s centre-right bloc is sitting on a total of 53 seats and the Gantz’s centre-left bloc has a total of 59.
That’s it from me for now. My colleague, Kate Lyons, will be taking it from here.That’s it from me for now. My colleague, Kate Lyons, will be taking it from here.
Channel 13 just made a dramatic update to their exit poll after rechecking. They now give Blue and White a better chance at winning. At Blue and White election party HQ, everyone screamed in delight when the news arrived on big screens.Channel 13 just made a dramatic update to their exit poll after rechecking. They now give Blue and White a better chance at winning. At Blue and White election party HQ, everyone screamed in delight when the news arrived on big screens.
It bears repeating once again, however, that these are all just polls and not the result.It bears repeating once again, however, that these are all just polls and not the result.
Updated Channel 13 exit pollBlue and White 32Likud 30**Joint List 15**Shas 9Yisrael Beytenu 8UTJ 8 Yamina 6Democratic Union 6Labor-Gesher 6Center-Left 59 (with Joint List)Right 53Updated Channel 13 exit pollBlue and White 32Likud 30**Joint List 15**Shas 9Yisrael Beytenu 8UTJ 8 Yamina 6Democratic Union 6Labor-Gesher 6Center-Left 59 (with Joint List)Right 53
Yael German, a member of Blue and White and a former health minister is at the party’s HQ this evening. She looks set to comfortably make it into the Knesset as she is 13 on the party list, with the exit polls suggesting Blue and White will end up with at least 30 seats.
Asked how she feels with the unclear exit polls, she declared herself upbeat, saying they broadly show her party as the largest.
I feel enthusiastic and excited. But I’m trying to hold it down. We have to be cautious until we have the real results.
She dismissed concerns that Blue and White still don’t appear to have a majority coalition with other parties, saying that – if they are the largest single party– the president should give Gantz a chance to form a government. Negotiations had already begun behind closed doors with other parties, she said. “The public voted for us,” she added.
Yuli Edelstein, the Knesset speaker and a senior member of Likud, says that the party will stick by Netanyahu, according to the Times of Israel. He has told reporters at the party’s election results event:
Likud is a united party and will continue to be so. Likud is the only democratic party in the political system, headed by an elected leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
I urge other party leaders not to try to determine who will be our leader — any such attempt will not succeed. Unity is the secret of the Likud’s power over the years and it will continue to be so in every situation.
Election day is always a national holiday in Israel and today it bright and sunny. Lots of people out on the beach in Tel Aviv and the streets were packed.
Just after midnight here and Blue and White are holding their election party in large hanger on the waterfront that appears to be a music venue. They are even playing trance music. But still pretty empty here, and reports suggest it’s the same at Likud. The exit polls have clearly concerned both parties.
The evening of the April election, there were many more supporters around by this time. And there are rumours going around that Gantz and Netanyahu might not even appear until tomorrow morning, when there is a clearer idea of the result.
Last time, they were both making victory speeches in the middle of the night.
Here’s a little more detail on the comments from the Israeli president, who has indicated a willingness to press party leaders to quickly form a new government.
Rivlin’s office said his nomination of a candidate would be guided in part by the need to avoid a third election after two votes in five months. It said he would meet with party leaders “after he receives a clear picture of the results, and as soon as possible”.
Israel’s largely ceremonial president assigns the task of forming a new government to the party leader most likely to assemble a majority coalition.
A senior Palestinian official says he hopes the next Israeli government “will focus on how to make peace,” the Associated Press reports. Saeb Erakat has said:
[Israel] cannot have peace or security without ending the occupation, without two states, the state of Palestine to live side by side with the state of Israel in peace and security on the 1967 lines.
In the closing days of his campaign, Netanyahu vowed to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, which Israel seized in the 1967 war and which the Palestinians consider the heartland of their future state.
The peace process broke down shortly after Netanyahu was elected in 2009 and no serious talks have been held since then.
Liberman, the possible kingmaker in the election, has repeated his call for a national unity government with Netanyahu’s Likud and Gantz’s Blue and White parties, Reuters reports.
The Haaretz columnist and Netanyahu biographer, Anshel Pfeffer, has written an article for the paper, in which he says that – while the exit polls may yet be wrong – the prime minister’s lustre is gone.
Netanyahu is going nowhere. His rival, Kahol Lavan head Benny Gantz, is nowhere near reaching a majority of his own as things stand. But one thing seems certain: Unless that miraculous turnaround between the exit polls and the actual results happens – the Netanyahu magic has been broken.
The politician who made it his business to win elections, who did it better than anyone else because he worked harder and always came up with a new strategy, has run out of dirty tricks. And the Israeli electorate has run out of patience.
Netanyahu’s strategy has been to build a majority coalition made up from right-wing parties and Jewish ultra-Orthodox politicians, who have wielded significant seats in previous parliaments.
Gantz’s plan has been to forge alliances with left-wing and centrist parties, including the remnants of the Labour party, which was once dominant but has since lost power.
However, exit polls – and I should keep repeating that they are unreliable – suggest those alliances will not tip either bloc over the magic 61 number of seats. That is because two major parties have not come out to say for sure that they will back either candidate.
The alliance of Arab parties mistrust both and, while they have indicated that it’s more likely they’ll back Gantz, the exit polls suggest their support alone would not be enough.
And then there’s Lieberman, who looks set to win enough seats to be a kingmaker.
This from Reuters’ correspondent in Jerusalem:
After Gantz was too quick to claim victory in the April election, this time around Blue and White's reticent. "Good night, everyone," Lapid told journalists. "We won't be responding until there are final results."
In Israeli elections, it is all about coalitions with smaller parties. Nobody is expecting Netanyahu or Gantz to win a majority in parliament. The thing to focus on instead is alliances with other parties.
The candidate with enough political allies to get 61 out of 120 seats is considered the winner. However, the exit polls that just came out – which can be very unreliable, I should say – suggest neither Netanyahu nor Gantz have enough seats to form even a coalition government.
Even with smaller parties that have already agreed to run with them, they will not have the numbers. It looks, from those exit polls, as if Israel is set for days or weeks of political deal-making.
Of course, by tomorrow morning, we’ll have results from actual counting that could be completely different.