World news 77K views since yesterday

Likud's campaign alarms give way to election-night relief

A report from inside party headquarters captures supporters celebrating a better-than-feared exit poll, followed by ministers turning their criticism on the media.

Channel: Kan News Hebrew channel ·

IsraelStory of October 29, 2026Trari Newsroom

Why this story? One of כאן | חדשות - תאגיד השידור הישראלי's most watched videos since yesterday, with 76,512 views.

כאן | חדשות - תאגיד השידור הישראלי: The news division of Kan, Israel's public broadcaster. 806K subscribers and 1.8B views.

הדאגה התחלפה בחגיגה: הלילה הדרמטי של הליכוד - "כולם טעו"

Things we can learn from the video

Press to jump

0:10The exit poll prompts cheers, although the on-screen assessment describes an election without a decisive outcome.
1:53Earlier footage shows activists discussing campaign alarms and fears of a worse result.
4:52Journalists identify turnout among Arab voters as an important factor in the election.
7:15Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi says the public broadcaster should finance itself without public money.
7:34Gadi Eisenkot declares a historic achievement for his party.
9:24Netanyahu accuses television channels of shaping public perceptions as the night approaches morning.

Slomi Vaknin's relief is visible before the night is settled. The Likud activist and Netanyahu associate had feared a worse result; after the exit polls appear, he tells reporter Alon Sharvit that he can breathe again.

Sharvit's report for Kan News, the news division of Israel's Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation, follows the change of mood inside Jerusalem's International Convention Center. An anxious gathering becomes a celebration, with activists still partying after Benjamin Netanyahu's address around four in the morning. The relief inside the hall is not the same thing as a confirmed governing majority: the broadcast's exit-poll graphic describes an election without a decisive outcome.

The report moves back through the evening to show how low expectations had fallen. Activists discuss the campaign's urgent warnings that Likud was in danger, often called a "gevalt" campaign in Israeli politics. Vaknin later says he fell for the alarm-raising himself. Another party organizer blames television coverage for creating the apprehension.

Journalists at the headquarters, including Kan presenters Ayala Hasson and Tal Berman and journalist Shaul Amsterdamski, discuss turnout among Arab voters as an important factor in the result. The report also cuts to Netanyahu's main challenger, Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot, proclaiming a historic achievement for his party.

As the night progresses, relief gives way to recriminations against broadcasters. Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi confronts journalists and says the public broadcaster should finance itself rather than rely on public money. Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli says the forecasters were wrong, presenting that alone as a reason to smile.

Netanyahu likewise challenges television coverage, accusing channels of shaping public perceptions. His political request is more concrete: a strong national right-wing government. Sharvit's camera captures supporters celebrating the night's reversal in expectations, while that government remains something Netanyahu is calling to establish.