Israel’s election was too close to call on Wednesday, with a partial vote tally showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tied with his main rival, former military chief Benny Gantz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An official result was still hours, perhaps days off. But with more than 63 per cent of votes counted, the Netanyahu-led right-wing bloc was, as expected, more or less even with Gantz’s centre-left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With no single-party majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament, there will likely be weeks of coalition talks before a new government is formed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lieberman has been pushing for a unity government comprised of the biggest parties. He declined to back Netanyahu’s bid to form a narrow right-wing and religious coalition after an April election, bringing about Tuesday’s unprecedented repeat vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing Likud party faithful, Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving premier, sipped water frequently and spoke hoarsely. He made no claim of victory or concession of defeat, saying he would await final results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gantz was more upbeat, telling a rally of his Blue and White party that it appeared “we fulfilled our mission”, and he pledged to work towards forming of a unity government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Campaigns run by Likud and Blue and White pointed to only narrow differences on many important issues: the regional struggle against Iran, the Palestinian conflict, relations with the United States and the economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
An end to the Netanyahu era would be unlikely to bring about a significant change in policy on hotly disputed issues in the peace process with the Palestinians that collapsed five years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Based on the partial vote count, Israel’s main TV stations, Channel 12 and 13, projected Likud and Blue and White would each have 32 seats. With support from smaller, like-minded parties, each was projected to command a bloc of about 55 or 56, short of a majority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That left Lieberman, whose party was forecast to win 9 seats. On Wednesday, he reiterated his call for a unity government but said he had not yet spoken to Gantz or Netanyahu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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