Deutsche Welle (English edition)
Israel election: Exit polls show Netanyahu's Likud party in the lead
Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed a "huge win" after exit polls put his Likud party in the lead. However, with the prime minister looking likely to fall short of a majority, the stage could be set for weeks of paralysis.
As the polls closed in Israel for the country's fourth election in two years on Tuesday, the political future of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remained unclear.
Voting locations closed at 10 p.m. local time (2000 GMT). Exit polls released by Israeli broadcasters projected Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party would take between 31 and 33 seats in the Knesset with rival Lapid Yesh Atid winning 16 to 18 seats.
If the final results are in line with the exit polls, both sides would likely have to court Naftali Bennett, a former Netanyahu ally who now has strained relations with the prime minister. Forecasters suggest Netanyahu could have a tough time building a coalition government.
With 61 seats needed for an outright majority in the 120seat parliament, it could be several days before an outcome is known and a potential fifth consecutive election cannot be ruled out.
Netanyahu claims 'huge win'
Despite the final results still being up in the air, Netanyahu claimed the election was a "huge win" for the right.
Voters have "given a great victory to the right and to the Likud under my leadership," he said in statements on Facebook and Twitter.
Coalition talks will be 'difficult'
DW correspondent Tania Krämer said Netanyahu may be ahead, but he faces an uphill battle to forming a coalition.
"It's going to be very very narrow if you look at the exit polls," she said, adding that Netanyahu will likely have to look for another party outside the allies he secured in order to reach a majority.
"If you look at the last election, Likud did much better at that time. He lost a couple of seats and it will be even more difficult now to form a coalition," she said.
Krämer noted that experts had expected Netanyahu's party could get a boost due to Israel's coronavirus vaccination campaign."
"But it might not have made so much of a difference for him now in this election campaign," she said.
What has led up to the election?
In contrast to past elections where Netanyahu faced clear rivals, this time an array of parties are trying to usurp him, albeit many of which share similar ideals.
Netanyahu is deliberately seeking "a right-wing religious government out of personal interest" because "he is challenged not by one large centrist opposition party, but by many parties, also from the political right," Steffen Hagemann from Germany's Heinrich-Böll Foundation told DW.
Speaking prior to the polls closing, Hagemann said Israel's vaccination rollout, which Netanyahu has branded as a success story, is what the incumbent hopes will see him over the line.
The prime minister moved quickly to secure enough vaccines for the entire country. In three months Israel has inoculated roughly 80% of its adult population. As a result, restaurants and stores have opened just in time for election day.
Netanyahu has tried to portray himself as a global statesman, pointing to the four diplomatic accords he reached with Arab nations in 2020. Those agreements were brokered by his close ally, former US President Donald Trump.
However, Hagemann also said Netanyahu faces challenges including a rising number of unemployed and a growing budget deficit.
What are Netanyahu's opponents saying?
Netanyahu's opponents include a trio of former aides who share his nationalistic ideology, but object to what they say is an autocratic leadership style.
They posit Netanyahu has failed in many aspects of the pandemic, particularly by allowing his ultra-Orthodox allies to ignore lockdown rules and fuel a high infection rate.
Over 6,000 people in Israel have died from COVID- 19, and the economy remains in trouble with double-digit unemployment.
They also point to Netanyahu's corruption trial, saying someone who is under indictment for serious crimes is not fit to lead the country. The PM has been charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes.