Trump claims credit for Netanyahu's lead in pivotal Israel election
What's the story
United States President Donald Trump has claimed credit for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's lead in Israel's pivotal general election. On Truth Social, Trump wrote, "When President Trump endorsed Bibi Netanyahu, the whole tide turned... It all took place after the endorsement by President Trump." Exit polls suggest no clear winner, but partial results published by the Central Elections Committee give the pro-Netanyahu bloc 55 seats and the opposition bloc 49.
Voter turnout
'Heard the poll numbers were wrong'
Later, when a reporter asked Trump about the election, he responded, "I heard the poll numbers were wrong... the exit polls; I heard he [Netanyahu] did very well. It was pretty close, but very well. When the endorsement went out, it helped him a lot."
Trump concluded, "It's a little bit early, but I'm hearing in Israel, top people say, 'Wow! He did a lot better than people thought.' It's looking like maybe a stalemate or a win."
Coalition talks
Netanyahu calls for right-wing parties to unite
Netanyahu has called for right-wing parties to unite in forming a government and rejected support from Arab parties.
"The Jewish and Zionist majority must unite," he said, adding that a government backed by Arab parties was "out of the question."
He called the prospect of working with Arab parties to form a government "a disgrace and a shame."
Election results
Voter turnout on Tuesday was the highest in decades
Neither camp was projected to win the 61 seats needed for a majority in the 120-member Knesset, which means much will depend on the role played by the two Arab parties, which were projected to win 18 or 19 seats.
Voter turnout on Tuesday was the highest in decades.
It stood at 77.7% when polls closed at 22:00 local time, the highest at that hour since 1999, the Central Elections Committee said.