00:00Israel's high-stakes election is heading for a cliffhanger.
00:03Vote counting underway.
00:04No clear majority as of now.
00:06But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing much better than his bloc was expected to do.
00:12He had virtually, not exactly written off, but said he'll be down in the 20s.
00:18He's up 54, though it's down 68 from last time.
00:22Gandhi-Eisenkot scam, are they underperforming?
00:26Because they were predicted to do much better.
00:28They're at 47.
00:30More than 70% votes have been counted so far.
00:34Benjamin Netanyahu has said this is an election result for continuing their operations
00:40to sort out the problems the nation faces.
00:43Netanyahu's bloc is at 54.
00:45Eisenkot Gandhi's bloc is at 47.
00:48The Arab parties have done much better than expected.
00:5119, 19 seats.
00:53Now, 61 is that magic figure in the 120-member Knesset of the Israeli parliament.
01:00Benjamin Netanyahu insists he's still waiting for the real results and wants a strong government.
01:06Eisenkot Gandhi, meanwhile, says Israelis have voted for change.
01:10He's pledged to work to replace Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
01:14The outcome could actually shape Israel's political future, its approach to conflict in West Asia,
01:20the policy in West Bank, and ties with Washington, D.C.
01:23The first election since the October 7, 2023 terror attacks has now become a very crucial litmus test
01:31for Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership, coalition arithmetic, and lots more.
01:37I quickly want to cut across and bring into this conversation India Today's Pranay Upadhyay,
01:43our man on Ground Zero.
01:45Also joining us on this special broadcast is David Matlin, an IDF reservist who is deployed on ground.
01:53And David, I see you.
01:54Welcome back.
01:55It was great talking to you this morning.
01:57But what's the current situation?
01:59Is the situation any different?
02:01Is the picture clearer now?
02:05Well, again, great to be back with you on your program.
02:08And I just want to say I appreciate your coverage and the support of all your viewers across India.
02:13It's really important to us here in Israel, the friendship between our nations.
02:17So thank you.
02:18Apologize for the rough background.
02:20Again, as you mentioned, I'm in the IDF reserves right now, like tens of thousands of other Israelis
02:24in this election period, mobilized to bolster the security fronts to try to maintain security amidst elections.
02:31No one wants any kind of security disruption to play a factor, you know, in the elections right now
02:38or in this climate of uncertainty.
02:40And there are threats.
02:42So, yes, throughout the day, you know, you really highlight it and break it down well.
02:45The polls, you know, essentially were wrong.
02:47The predictions, once again, were not correct in how all the votes would go.
02:53And at this point, with most of the votes counted, it does appear that not much has moved.
02:59In terms of these blocks that have been in place now for so many years in this country, nothing really
03:05moved.
03:05And so the country is sitting here looking at the situation.
03:08Yes, with some votes still to be counted, primarily from the army, actually, people who are voting in the army,
03:14especially with ballots that are set up.
03:16So, with this point, people are pushing for it for unity.
03:20They'd like to see Isaac Cote work with it.
03:21Oh, absolutely.
03:23Does it stay at 54 and 47?
03:24Is the picture likely to change?
03:26The official announcement, of course, happens around the 4th of October.
03:29Am I right?
03:29So, what happens between now and the 4th of October?
03:35Well, basically, they are counting the final votes here.
03:37There are still some, could be a couple hundred thousand votes that are still being final counted right now.
03:43These are ones that come from soldiers in the army, like myself, that are the last batch to be counted.
03:49Most of those are expected to go towards the Netanyahu block.
03:53Maybe not Netanyahu himself, but parties affiliated with him.
03:57So, there could be a slight shift.
03:58And in this country, as you know, the margins are small, especially right now with these numbers that are appearing.
04:05A few thousand votes can shape the entire outcome of this election still.
04:09So, there's a margin here where people are still sitting on the edge of their seats somewhat to see if
04:13there's any last-minute movement here in these coming days.
04:17Okay.
04:18Now, when you look at the situation on ground, will the election results either ways?
04:24You know, whether it's Benjamin Netanyahu or Eisencote Gandhi, does it impact the way Israel deals with either Hamas or
04:32Hezbollah or Iran?
04:37Well, that's a good question.
04:38It's the one we're really all asking ourselves.
04:41Outwardly, there's no great policy difference being proposed by either of these camps when it comes to the security fronts.
04:47The ones you mentioned, the most sensitive with Iran, with the Palestinians, of course, looking at Hezbollah.
04:53No one is really pitching a different way forward.
04:56Everyone's kind of talking tough.
04:58But at the same time, there's a track record here to look at.
05:01You know, Prime Minister Netanyahu has been in charge throughout these last three years.
05:05He's taken the tough positions.
05:06He's made those really difficult decisions required to go after the Ayatollah, to go after Nasrallah.
05:13These different really mega moves that he's overseen.
05:17There's a question about some of the guys in code, Gandhi Eisencote and the opposition here or other figures who
05:23weren't in those intense pressure positions of these last three years.
05:27And quite honestly, especially when it comes to Gaza, Gandhi Eisencote was advocating a very different set of policies throughout
05:32the war.
05:33He wanted to make all sorts of smaller deals with Hamas.
05:36He was in favor of, he was against, you know, Netanyahu's push militarily, things that were happening that ultimately did
05:42lead to all the living hostages released.
05:45So there might be.
05:47People are left to wonder if a new policy such as Gandhi Eisencote and politics would have, you know, so
05:52to say the guts to make those tough decisions.
05:54We're not sure.
05:55Fair enough.
05:56Fair enough.
05:57Let me also bring in India Today Group's Foreign Affairs editor, Geeta Mohan, who joins me now with more on
06:02this.
06:02Geeta, very confusing picture or is there a little more clarity now?
06:08I think the picture is getting clearer, like David said.
06:12Netanyahu does have a record, a track record when it comes to leading his country.
06:16And like we were discussing in the morning, and I see David has been with us through, as we were
06:22discussing in the morning, Gaurav, whether it's Eisencote or Netanyahu, the agenda for Israel and policies for Israel do not
06:31change.
06:32They're not vastly different.
06:34In fact, they're actually quite similar.
06:36It's only the means and methods and the way they're going to work and go about things could be a
06:40little different.
06:40I repeat and I'll continue to repeat myself on this one.
06:44The problem with, he has the numbers, he needs to cross the halfway mark.
06:49The problem over here is that should the Arab parties extend outside support to Eisencote, then it doesn't seem like
06:57Netanyahu then can form government.
07:00So, Mattel, that's a very big point you brought.
07:02David, Mattel, tell me about the 19 seats that the Arab parties have got.
07:06And they've already pledged outside support to Eisencote.
07:09Whether he wants it or not is a different matter altogether.
07:11So, you know, is that the big game changer in Israel now, the Arab parties?
07:21It's significant.
07:22It is significant.
07:23The voter turnout across the country, from the Arab sector to everyone, really was very hot.
07:28You know, it was something for the country as a whole to be so proud of right now.
07:32Over 80 percent turnout.
07:34And that is reflected in this good showing for all the Arab parties, whether you have, you know, the block
07:40of them that are sitting together or the Rom party, the Islamist party who had a really strong showing.
07:45They're looking at having seven seats in parliament right now.
07:47The Rom party.
07:48They're the interesting wild card in this one because the other Arab parties are really not going to sit with
07:54anyone in any realistic thing.
07:56They may, in some sort of fashion, be outside supporters of an Eisencote government.
08:00That's an unlikely scenario.
08:01The Rom party, though, is an interesting potential, let's call it kingmaker.
08:05And officially, from what we've heard from their party, both blocks have already reached out to the Rom party to
08:12try to hold discussions about a potential coalition.
08:16Fair enough.
08:17And that's a story we'll be tracking very, very closely.
08:19David Matlin and Geeta Mohan, many thanks for joining me.
08:23So it's going to be a long night in Israel.
08:26Perhaps tomorrow, the picture will be far more clearer.
