Religious Zionist Party chairman and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich arrived early Wednesday morning at his party's headquarters at the Ramada Hotel in Jerusalem, approximately two hours after the release of the exit polls in the 26th Knesset elections.
Smotrich was greeted with dancing by party activists, alongside rabbis who had gathered at the venue.
Addressing supporters, Smotrich expressed optimism about the final election results despite the political uncertainty and significant differences among the various exit polls.
"It is possible that the soldiers' votes will push us higher," Smotrich said, referring to the double-envelope ballots, which are counted separately and could affect the distribution of Knesset seats.
The Religious Zionist Party, which is running in the election on a joint slate with Moshe Feiglin's Zehut party, received between six and seven seats in the six exit polls released when voting ended.
The party received six seats in the Channel 12 News exit poll, as well as in the Kan 11 News poll. The i24NEWS exit poll, conducted by the Direct Polls institute, also projected six seats for the list.
The joint Religious Zionist-Zehut list received six seats in the Channel 13 News exit poll. By contrast, Channel 14 projected seven seats for the Religious Zionist Party, as did Channel 16.
Later in his speech, Smotrich addressed reactions among the Arab parties following the publication of the exit polls and made clear that he intended to continue advancing his policies related to the construction of Jewish communities.
"I see on some of the screens that the Arabs are celebrating, so I am announcing to you and to them: We will not let them celebrate," Smotrich said.
He argued that the celebrations stemmed from expectations of a change in government policy toward Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria.
"They are celebrating because they think they will succeed in reversing our settlement revolution in Judea and Samaria. I am telling them: They will not succeed."
Smotrich concluded his remarks with a declaration regarding the future of Jewish settlement in the Gaza Strip: "Jewish communities will be established in Gaza."