Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc appears to have failed to secure a parliamentary majority in Monday’s general election.
With 99% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s Likud party was on track to win 36 seats, and allied right-wing and religious parties another 22.
That would leave them three short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
Likud is encouraging defections from the rival centrist Blue and White alliance, which is set to win 33 seats.
The nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party could also tip the balance with its seven seats, although it has ruled out joining a Likud-led coalition that includes religious parties.
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The Joint List representing Israel’s Arab minority is set to come third with 15 seats.
The election was Israel’s third in less than a year. Neither of the main party leaders was able to command a majority following the last two rounds.
Netanyahu, 70, is Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. He is seeking a record fifth term, having been in office from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009.
During the election campaign he presented himself as the only candidate who could guarantee the country’s security, despite facing a trial this month on corruption charges that he denies.
He also pledged to annex Jewish settlements and other land in the occupied West Bank that the Palestinians want as part of a future state – in line with the peace plan unveiled by US President Donald Trump in January. The settlements are widely considered illegal under international law, though Israel disputes this.
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