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EPA
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a strong position to form a coalition government
Israel’s general election is on course for a dead heat with nearly all votes counted, local media report.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party and the centrist Blue and White alliance are projected to win 35 seats each with most votes counted.
The outcome puts Mr Netanyahu in a strong position to form a right-wing coalition government.
No party has ever won a majority in Israel’s 120-seat parliament and it has always had coalition governments.
Exit polls had predicted a tight race with no clear winner, prompting both Mr Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to claim victory on Tuesday night.
But the success of other right-wing parties appears to have put Mr Netanyahu in pole position to form a coalition and clinch a record fifth term in office.
That would see him overtake Israel’s founding father David Ben-Gurion as its longest-serving prime minister.
What’s the background?
Mr Netanyahu, 69, put forward tough messages on security ahead of the vote and it soon became one of the election’s key issues.
He also made a significant announcement in the final days of the campaign, suggesting a new government would annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
The settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.
Mr Netanyahu is also facing allegations of corruption which he denies. He says he is a victim of a political “witch hunt” designed to influence the election.
In a separate controversy on Tuesday, Israeli Arab politicians condemned his Likud party for sending 1,200 observers equipped with hidden body cameras to polling stations in Arab communities.
The Arab alliance, Hadash-Taal, said it was an “illegal” action that sought to intimidate Arabs. Likud said it wanted to ensure only “valid votes” were cast.
Mr Netanyahu’s main challenger, Mr Gantz, is a retired lieutenant-general who formed the Blue and White in February, promising to unite a country that had “lost its way”.
The 59-year-old former chief of staff of the Israeli military has rivalled Mr Netanyahu’s tough stance on security and has promised cleaner politics.
Mr Gantz’s campaign platform referred to “separation” from the Palestinians but did not specifically mention them having an independent state. It also called for continued control over the Jordan Valley and retaining West Bank settlement blocs.