00:00Israel bracing election results now.
00:03We'll be waiting to see if it's Netanyahu in or out
00:05or is it Gandhi, Eisencourt, the challenger.
00:08But the election results are too close to call right now.
00:10Remember, the reason for that is while it shows
00:13that the lead is with regard to Netanyahu
00:15and his Likud party and the affiliates,
00:17but Eisencourt is also following close behind.
00:20And the reason right now that also means
00:23if it's a hung assembly,
00:25they'll have to look at the alliance partners.
00:27Amid the uncertainty, one thing is clear.
00:30Majority may not be coming for either side.
00:32Exit polls also suggesting Netanyahu's bloc
00:34is said to be the biggest bloc, though,
00:36in the Israeli parliament.
00:38Netanyahu spoke at the Likud party's headquarters
00:40suggesting everyone must wait for the real results
00:43before deciding final outcome.
00:45Netanyahu warning that Israel cannot be led
00:47by a government held up with Arab backing
00:50and that forming a strong right-wing national government
00:53is must.
00:54Netanyahu's challenger, Gandhi Eisencourt,
00:56celebrated his bloc's performance also in the elections
00:58and has vowed already that they will be forming
01:00the next government.
01:02Now, remember, Eisencourt also has massive military experience.
01:05He has led the IDF
01:06and claimed that the Israeli public rejected Netanyahu
01:10and that he should now step down as prime minister.
01:13U.S. President Donald Trump,
01:14meanwhile, already claiming credit,
01:16ladies and gentlemen,
01:17for Netanyahu's bloc's better-than-expected performance.
01:21Trump even went on to claim
01:23that Netanyahu has won the elections
01:25and because Trump had expressed clear support.
01:28that that Hitler must be on its next level.
01:31Thank you for the invitation,
01:32Sir, it's only time for us.
01:34We are just a advance.
01:35We are only waiting for a real real,
01:38to the real real,
01:39and for the real real
01:39and cover it in the past,
01:41and today, the real real days.
01:43The
01:44Freddie MacLeod
01:51The first thing is an important thing.
01:55The first thing is a big and important thing.
01:56The second thing is a great deal of the great deal of Israel.
02:02Do you remember that?
02:04The second thing is more important.
02:09We are going to be able to make a German and German peace.
02:17This is what we need to do.
02:32Israel is working on a historic opportunity, with our leader Trump, to restore the enemy
02:41from Iran once and for forever.
02:44Koaliciyat HaMikdal abda et amun haam.
02:48Hatsibur haisraeli etsabia neged hamshik kaunatou
02:52shen Netanyahu k'rosh memasalit Yisrael.
02:56Netanyahu, al taaz,
02:58l'eshtemesh b'bitechon Yisrael
03:00l'acrachika apolitikim.
03:03Yisrael ba derek l'aidan chadash,
03:07aidan shil t'akwa, arvot edadit,
03:10v'reot, kol ma shayinu, v'nachzor liyot.
03:15Ani nachush sh'kach iye.
03:18An election during wartime.
03:20This is historic and unprecedented
03:22and therefore India today is on the ground
03:24to not depend on a secondary source
03:26and also document these important and significant elections.
03:29Pranay Upadhyay, our India Today Global Editor,
03:32is joining me now from Israel.
03:33Pranay, what is it looking like?
03:35It's too close to call.
03:37What happens if it's a hunger assembly?
03:38How do they decide who forms the government?
03:41It's a complicated process, Pooja.
03:44You know, a lot depends on precedent.
03:46But we are yet to get the final verdict,
03:49final telly, because the counting is still on.
03:51Though over 70% votes have already been counted.
03:55Likud party, which is being led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
03:59and its alliance, is leading.
04:01But they are still short of that half of the mark.
04:03And in fact, they did not improve their previous election tally of 2022,
04:10which was at around 68 seats.
04:12So clearly, they do not have majority.
04:14Neither his political challenger, Gadi Aizencourt, has managed to secure a majority.
04:18And therefore, it opens up the game of maybe host trading, maybe competition combinations,
04:24maybe some kind of alliance, some kind of, you know, defection,
04:27and all sorts of things which you can think about in political discourse,
04:33can be exercised to manage and to form a government.
04:36But in that case, you know, this scenario also kind of suits Prime Minister Netanyahu.
04:42Why I am saying so?
04:43Because the longer it takes to form a new government,
04:47Prime Minister Netanyahu remains as a caretaker Prime Minister of Israel.
04:50And in fact, with certain restrictions, he enjoys all the things
04:55that as far as the operations are concerned,
04:57he doesn't have any kind of a restriction in terms of giving those executive orders
05:02for the security operations, for the military operations.
05:05And certainly, you know, he can continue for a while,
05:08because as for the Israeli constitution,
05:10if they get 28 days window to form a coalition or a government,
05:14then the president may invite the second party
05:17if the first coalition fails to form a government
05:19in that stipulated time of 28 days,
05:22then the second leader or second coalition gets a chance of 14 days.
05:25And after that, the president may decide to call for new elections or for the election.
05:31But that is also a very complicated process and a very costly process.
05:35Because for the viewer watching here in India,
05:38they may not be aware as much about Gadi Heisengaard as well and his politics.
05:43So how the fact that Israelis look like they have voted so close,
05:47what has been his politics like?
05:49What happens if he becomes the head of the government?
05:51Will he have the support of the alliance partners?
05:54Do you think Netanyahu will do whatever it takes because of his survival situation as well?
05:58And importantly, how will U.S. and India see this next government?
06:05Pooja, if I may have to list, there are two important issues
06:09which dominated the political discourse and the electoral discourse in Israel
06:13and which were security, you know, post-7 October 2023 incident.
06:19Who failed? How did it happen?
06:21Who's accountable? And issues around that.
06:24Who's going to ensure that the borders of Israel will remain safe?
06:28Who can ensure the security of people of Israel?
06:31So that dominated the discourse.
06:32But besides that, the rising cost is also an issue.
06:36And if you see the difference in these two candidates,
06:39Gadi Heisenkot is a soft-spoken guy, though he served as the IDF chief.
06:43And in fact, he is also known for, you know, promulgating
06:47and giving the Dahiya doctrine of using the maximum force on civilian infrastructure
06:54in case of a military operation.
06:58But, you know, the big issue here is that the people of Israel were largely divided
07:03that, you know, who they should favor
07:05because Likud Fati's supporter said that there should be a continuation
07:10so that the unfinished agenda, unfinished job can be completed on the other side.
07:14People, those who are opposing Bibi Netanyahu, they are of the opinion that Gadi Heisenkot is a moderate face.
07:21Because either way, it will be eventually about how India's interests are also maintained,
07:26our friendship, and how this may change the situation across West Asia.
07:30Thank you very much, Pranay.
07:31Looking forward to further reports from Israel.
