Netanyahu addressed activists at Likud's election headquarters in Jerusalem at around 3 a.m. Israel time. Arutz Sheva put the event at the International Convention Center. He urged supporters to treat the exit polls as a first indication only. "This is only the beginning. We are still waiting for the actual results, which we will receive over the next day or two," he said, adding that "unequivocally, Likud is the largest party in Israel."
He accused "propaganda channels" of putting Likud at "18 seats, 19 seats" in pre-election surveys to discourage his voters from turning out. He also claimed that "the right-wing bloc has a clear, decisive majority among the Zionist public, among the Jewish public and among all those who support the Jewish state." For that reason, he said, "we must establish a strong national right-wing government."
Netanyahu then addressed the Arab parties directly. "We must not, absolutely must not, endanger Israel by establishing a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties, parties that oppose our very existence, that regard Hamas as a charitable organization and call our soldiers war criminals," he said. The crowd chanted "Shame! Shame!" He named the Islamic Movement, the Joint List and Balad.
He criticized the opposition's "alliance of those who serve," a slogan built on military service and opposition to draft exemptions, especially for ultra-Orthodox men. "How can you talk about an alliance of those who serve when you join forces with those who attack the people who serve — our IDF soldiers?" he asked. "The Zionist majority in the State of Israel, the Jewish and Zionist majority, must come to its senses and unite."
On Iran, Netanyahu reviewed the war. "We eliminated Mohammed Deif, Yahya Sinwar, Hassan Nasrallah and Ali Khamenei. We established security zones in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria," he said, in remarks carried by Ynet. "Iran is weaker than ever, and Israel is stronger than ever." He warned that "this is not over as long as this fanatical regime exists." He pledged to work with US President Donald Trump "to remove this threat once and for all."
He thanked soldiers, wounded veterans and bereaved families. He described meeting a wounded soldier at the Western Wall who uses a wheelchair and typed a message on a tablet with his nose. He also thanked his coalition partners, his wife Sara and his sons Yair and Avner. He ended the speech with: "Fear not, Israel, fear not."
Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot claimed victory and said "the public voted for change." JTA described his "change bloc" as made up of Yashar, Yisrael Beiteinu under Avigdor Lieberman, the Democrats under Yair Golan, and B'Yachad, which Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid lead together. The same report said Netanyahu's bloc includes ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties.
Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas told Channel 12 he was interested in joining Eisenkot's bloc. He said he was talking with both camps. He added that someone senior in the right-wing bloc had approached him about possible cooperation.
"Unless there is some massive change, Netanyahu does not have a government," said Professor Jonathan Rynhold of Bar-Ilan University. He added that if the opposition keeps its pledge to exclude Arab parties, "I am sure Netanyahu will be happy to go to another election." Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the bloc was "waiting for the soldiers' votes."
Abbas told Channel 12 that "with these numbers, there is no government." He said he would decide on Eisenkot's conditions only once it was clear whether a government could be formed. JFeed reported on Wednesday morning that Kan's updated projection had Likud rising to 27 seats, while Itamar Ben-Gvir's Otzma Yehudit fell short of expectations as right-wing voters appeared to move to Likud.
