07:03

The mood was quite downbeat at Likud party’s HQ earlier today, and certainly compared with the atmosphere during the April election.

I spoke with a Likud party volunteer just after Netanyahu’s speech who seemed worried about the prospects for the prime minister. Batel Benjamin, 29, has been working all day to get people to vote in the Israel settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank. But she said even some Likud supporters did not believe Netanuyahu’s warning that they could lose the election, and so did not cast ballots.

When asked about exit polls showing Likud slightly behind, she said: “I’m not surprised. We felt it all day – people were pretty indifferent. I still believe Netanyahu will be the next prime minister. We hope that it will be with a rightwing government, but maybe it will be a unity government.”

Benjamin is a settler herself and has been a long-time supporter of the prime minister, saying she believes in “keeping the land of Israel, not giving parts to the Arabs”, in reference to the Palestinian territories.

You can read our full story about the night’s events here.

