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| Israel election: Exit polls favour Netanyahu bloc | Israel election: Exit polls favour Netanyahu bloc |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| The election has been widely seen as a referendum on Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership | |
| Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party is on track to win the most seats in Israel's fourth election in two years but may struggle to secure a majority coalition, exit polls suggest. | |
| Likud and allied right-wing and religious parties are projected to win 53 or 54 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. | |
| Parties opposed to the prime minister staying in office are set for 59 seats. | |
| It means the nationalist Yamina party led of former Netanyahu loyalist Naftali Bennett could act as kingmaker. | |
| It is forecast to win seven or eight seats and has not explicitly declared which side it will support. | |
| "I will do only what is good for the state of Israel," Mr Bennett was quoted as saying by a spokesman after the exit polls were released. | "I will do only what is good for the state of Israel," Mr Bennett was quoted as saying by a spokesman after the exit polls were released. |
| The Central Elections Committee does not expect all of the votes to be counted before Wednesday afternoon due to coronavirus-related restrictions. | |
| Election hopes and fears play out in crater town | Election hopes and fears play out in crater town |
| Israel's commando-turned-PM | Israel's commando-turned-PM |
| No party leaders were able to form a stable coalition after the previous three general elections. | |
| The current national unity government, which was the result of a power-sharing deal with Defence Minister Benny Gantz, collapsed in December after just seven months. | The current national unity government, which was the result of a power-sharing deal with Defence Minister Benny Gantz, collapsed in December after just seven months. |
| Tuesday's election was widely seen as a referendum on Mr Netanyahu's leadership. | Tuesday's election was widely seen as a referendum on Mr Netanyahu's leadership. |
| His campaign focused on Israel's world-leading Covid-19 vaccination campaign and his diplomatic success in normalising ties with some Arab countries. | |
| But his opponents from across the political spectrum argue that he should not remain in office while he is on trial for corruption. He denies any wrongdoing. | But his opponents from across the political spectrum argue that he should not remain in office while he is on trial for corruption. He denies any wrongdoing. |