Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party appears to have won the most seats in Israel’s election but is just one short of the number needed for a majority right-wing government, according to early exit polls.

The results released by Israeli networks Channel 11, 12 and 13 show Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party sweeping between 36 and 37 of the seats of the Knesset, Israeli’s parliament, storming well ahead of the prime minister’s chief rival Benny Gantz.

While the polls did not give the Likud and it’s right-wing religious allies the 61-seat majority needed to form a government – their right bloc was forecasted to take 59, two seats short.

This will probably mean Mr Netanyahu, who has fought a fierce elections campaign under the shadow of indictment on corruption charges, will be poised to retain his position as prime minister.

The polls suggested Mr Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party fell behind with between 32 and 34 of the seats. The centre-left bloc meanwhile trailed with just over 41 of the seats, according to the polls.

The official results are due to be announced on Tuesday, pending any voting abnormalities.

As the news broke Mr Netanyahu tweeted ”thanks” with a heart emoji.

Later at the Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv, to a room packed with jubilant supporters wielding enormous flags and bunches of balloons, he declared it “a night of great victory”.



"We won against all odds," he said before listing the achievements of the last decade under his rule.

”This victory is especially sweet, because it is a victory against all odds ... We turned lemons into lemonade.”



He vowed to work on the immediate annexation of parts of the West Bank and finished the speech by vowing to press ahead with government building.



"Tomorrow, after we sleep a bit. We’ll sit down to form a strong and stable national government.”



Earlier Gilad Erdan, a Likud Knesset member (MK) told The Independent: “I’m feeling great and I think that the people of Israel have shown that they support the leadership of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the views of the Likud and the right-wing camp.”

“Now we hope that the other parties will accept this verdict and will negotiate with us to establish a strong right-wing government,” he added.



However, he did not give specifics about where the final seat needed for a majority would come from.



Rachel Broyde, a Likud spokeswoman, called it a "huge success".



"This is very exciting for us. It’s too early to say for sure but we feel that we have finally seen a breakthrough,” she said.



“We wanted to get an easy 61 seats or more, right now we are at 60 but the number of seats could easily push ahead based on the surplus votes agreement," she added.



By contrast at the base camp for Blue and White across town, the crowds gathered there met the news with a muted response.



Mr Gantz refused to concede a defeat and asked his supporters to wait for the final results.

“I understand the feeling of disappointment... This wasn’t the outcome that perhaps we would have wanted,” he said.

He thanked thousands for their support through “the nastiest election campaign in Israel’s history”, adding that “the State of Israel needs to heal, it needs unity, and reconciliation. We will continue to serve the public”.

He reminded his teams of Mr Netanyahu’s impending trial, adding “We have just begun. We have a long road ahead,” he said.



Blue and White MK Yael German echoed the former army chief, saying it was time to “digest” the polls before coming to conclusions.



“Now is the time to wait. We need to wait for the results it won’t be the same as we saw just now,” she told The Independent.

Israel heads to the polls: In pictures Show all 12 1 /12 Israel heads to the polls: In pictures Israel heads to the polls: In pictures People walk past a Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) alliance electoral billboard depicting the faces of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) with text in Hebrew reading "taking care of himself" and of retired Israeli general Benny Gantz (L) with text reading "taking care of Israel", in the central Israeli city of Ramat Gan on March 1, 2020, a day before the country's third election in a year. AFP Israel heads to the polls: In pictures Israeli centrist Blue and White party and ex-military chief Benny Gantz talks to the media next to his wife Revital at a polling station in the city of Rosh Hayin during parliamentary election on March 2, 2020. - Israelis were voting for a third time in 12 months today, with embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to end the country's political crisis and save his career. AFP via Getty Images Israel heads to the polls: In pictures An Israeli man casts his vote during parliamentary election at a polling station in Jerusalem on March 2, 2020. - Israelis were voting for a third time in 12 months today, with embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to end the country's political crisis and save his career. AFP via Getty Images Israel heads to the polls: In pictures Ultra-Orthodox Jews vote in the Israeli religious city of Bnei Brak near Tel Aviv during parliamentary election on March 2, 2020. - Israelis were voting for a third time in 12 months today, with embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to end the country's political crisis and save his career. AFP via Getty Images Israel heads to the polls: In pictures An Israeli man and a child cast a ballot at a polling station in Tel Aviv during parliamentary election on March 2, 2020. - Israelis were voting for a third time in 12 months today, with embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to end the country's political crisis and save his career. AFP via Getty Images Israel heads to the polls: In pictures Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Netanyahu cast their ballots during the Israeli legislative elections at a polling station in Jerusalem, Monday, March 2, 2020. Israelis have begun voting in the country's unprecedented third election in less than a year. AP Israel heads to the polls: In pictures An Arab Israeli woman votes in the country's parliamentary elections at a polling station in the Arab city of Tamra in northern Israel on March 2, 2020. - Israelis were voting for a third time in 12 months today, with embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to end the country's political crisis and save his career. AFP via Getty Images Israel heads to the polls: In pictures An Israeli settler casts a vote with his son during elections in the settlement of Alon Shvut, West Bank, Monday, March 2, 2020. AP Israel heads to the polls: In pictures An Israeli employee of the Central Elections Committee wearing a protective suit sits inside a special sterile voting station for people in quarantine on coronavirus suspicion, in Jerusalem, Israel, 02 March 2020. Some 5,600 Israelis who have returned in the last two weeks from countries such as China, Thailand, Singapore, Macau, South Korea, Japan and Italy, have been required to stay in a 14-day isolation by the Israeli Ministry of Health. EPA Israel heads to the polls: In pictures An Israeli employee of the Central Elections Committee wearing a protective suit talks to a voter at a special sterile voting station for people in quarantine on coronavirus suspicion, in Jerusalem, Israel, 02 March 2020. Some 5,600 Israelis who have returned in the last two weeks from countries such as China, Thailand, Singapore, Macau, South Korea, Japan and Italy, have been required to stay in a 14-day isolation by the Israeli Ministry of Health. EPA Israel heads to the polls: In pictures An Arab-Israeli girl casts her mother's ballot for the parliamentary election at a poling station in the Bedouin town of Rahat near the southern Israeli city of Beersheba on March 2, 2020. - Israel held its third election in less than a year seeking to break a grinding political deadlock, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chasing re-election while facing criminal indictment. AFP via Getty Images Israel heads to the polls: In pictures Israelis gather at a polling booth specially erected for the 5,600 voters under quarantine, many of whom visited countries where the coronavirus COVID-19 is prevalent, during parliamentary elections in the northern Israeli city of Haifa on March 2, 2020. - Israelis were voting for a third time in 12 months today, with embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to end the country's political crisis and save his career . AFP via Getty Images

“I’m not very happy with the results as of now but we’ve been through three rounds and until now Benjamin Netanyahu hasn’t succeeded in forming a government so maybe Benny Gantz will. It’s time to wait,” she added.



A Blue and White campaigner Nachum Schwartzberg, 48, from Tel Aviv said that he still felt "optimistic" despite the damning polls.

“We need to wait for the morning results. These numbers are misleading. But the basic feeling is that people ignored Netanyahu’s indictments. It’s not surprising it’s just disappointing,” he said.

“We could get another few seats by the morning. I’m still optimistic. Blue and White’s line is about bringing people together, it’s not for nothing the tag line is “Israel before anything”.

Israel has been run by a toothless caretaker government for the last year following two inconclusive general elections after which Mr Netanyahu and his arch-rival Mr Gantz both failed to form majority ruling coalition.



Without the ability to set and approve budgets and so set funds for health, education, welfare and infrastructure projects, the economy has suffered.

Voters at the polling stations expressed their intense dissatisfaction at the impasse.



Mr Netanayhu has been fighting for re-election just weeks before he is due to appear in court on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, allegations he vehemently denies.

His opponents say he cannot juggle being the country’s prime minister and stand trial.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announcing his plans for a 'unitied Jerusalem'