Summary

  • Exit polls in Israel's election suggest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and the Zionist Union are neck-and-neck

  • Two polls project the parties have 27 seats each, while a third says Likud has one more seat than its rival, led by Yitzhak Herzog

  • Mr Netanyahu hails the outcome as a "great victory" for Likud, but Mr Herzog insists "everything is open"

  • Both would need the support of other parties in the 120-seat Knesset to form a coalition government

  • The exit polls suggest that the Joint List, an alliance of Arab-Israeli parties, has come third (All times in GMT)

  1. Postpublished at 21:13 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Voter turnout was 71.8%, according to Israel's Central Elections Committee. That is 4% more than in the 2013 election, and the highest turnout since 1999, according to Israel's embassy in the US.

  2. Postpublished at 21:10 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Kevin Connolly
    BBC News, Tel Aviv

    What had looked like a rather panicked and rather desperate tragedy in the last 48 hours - Benjamin Netanyahu suddenly being wheeled out to do interview after interview, warning of what he called the dangers of a leftist victory - suddenly appears to have paid off.

  3. Postpublished at 21:07 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Mr Netanyahu has hailed a "great victory" for Likud - but not everyone agrees with him. Maya, a supporter of the Zionist Union, tells the BBC's Mark Lowen in Tel Aviv: "I don't think that we have finished our judgment yet. It's all about who will be able to form the biggest coalition now."

    Zionist Union supporter Maya in Tel Aviv - March 17 2015
  4. Postpublished at 21:06 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Israeli media report that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, leader of the right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party, has refused to take calls from Mr Netanyahu and Mr Herzog.

  5. Postpublished at 21:05 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Although the exit polls show Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party tied with Yitzhak Herzog's Zionist Union with 27 seats each, correspondents say the prime minister will have an easier time forming a coalition with a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Mr Netanyahu has already begun to call potential partners.

  6. Postpublished at 20:55 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Israel President Reuven Rivlin has said he will work for a national unity government, the Haaretz newspaper reports. It quotes Mr Rivlin as saying that "only a unity government can prevent the rapid disintegration of Israel's democracy and new elections in near future".

  7. Postpublished at 20:51 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Here is the full translation of Mr Netanyahu's tweet from the Reuters news agency: "Against all odds: a great victory for Likud, a great victory for the national camp led by Likud, a great victory for the people of Israel."

    Likud election poster showing Benjamin Netanyahu (17 March 2015)Image source, AFP
  8. Postpublished at 20:47 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    On Twitter, Benjamin Netanyahu writes in Hebrew, external that he is celebrating a "great victory".

  9. Postpublished at 20:47 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    As for the newcomer, the former Likud minister Moshe Kahlon and his Kulanu party - it looks likely it will gain either nine or 10 seats.

    Moshe Kahlon, heads the new Kulanu party, arrives at a polling station for the Israeli general elections in the city of Haifa, Israel, 17 March 2015Image source, EPA
  10. Postpublished at 20:40 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    A quick update on one of the other candidates: Yair Lapid, and his centrist Yesh Atid party. All the exit polls put the former broadcaster's party in fourth place - with either 12 or 11 seats. That would represent a step back from the 19 won in 2013 - but Mr Lapid may yet have a crucial role to play in forming a governing coalition.

    Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid poses for a photo as he casts his ballot for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Tel Aviv March 17, 2015Image source, Reuters
  11. Postpublished at 20:36 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Michael Shuval
    Producer, BBC Arabic

    tweets, external: 1st reax from @ZionistUnion: Likud is misleading. Right bloc shrunk. All open until final results come in & we'll know what gov we can form.

  12. Postpublished at 20:34 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    The Times of Israel says, external the two leading figures in the Zionist Union, Labour's Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni of Hatnua, are locked in talks. Mr Herzog is expected to address supporters at the Zionist Union's election headquarters in Tel Aviv within the next hour.

    Yitzhak Herzog and Tzipi Livni confer while campaigning in Tel Aviv (17 March 2015)Image source, Reuters
  13. Postpublished at 20:29 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    A spokesman for the Likud party tells the BBC's Kevin Connolly: "There was some concern in recent days but I think we are all feeling a celebratory mood with these polls." He adds: "There's no 100% certainty, but I feel confident that the prime minister will continue to lead the government."

  14. Postpublished at 20:28 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Twenty-five minutes ago, exit polls from Israel's election were released. They suggest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party and the centre-left Zionist Union are neck-and-neck. Two TV stations project that the parties will win 27 seats each, while a third says Likud will win one more seat than its rival. The exit polls suggest that the Arab Joint List, an alliance of Israeli Arab-dominated parties, will come third with up to 13 seats.

    Zionist Union supporters react to the publication of exit polls by Israeli TV channels on 17 March 2015Image source, AP
    Image caption,

    Zionist Union supporters react as the first exit polls are released at the alliance's election headquarters in Tel Aviv

  15. Postpublished at 20:25 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Lahav Harkov, a senior Knesset reporter with the Jerusalem Post, tweets, external from Likud's headquarters: "In the last election, Likud has a much bigger lead and Likudniks were sad. Now they're tied and everyone is jumping for joy."

  16. Postpublished at 20:25 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Anshel Pfeffer, a journalist with Haaretz newspaper, tweets, external: "Herzog almost certainly didn't win tonight but at he did a lot better than anyone expected just a couple of weeks ago. Still a contender."

  17. Postpublished at 20:22 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Mark Lowen
    BBC News, Tel Aviv

    tweets, external: Abigail: Zionist U, Danny:Likud. Both disappointed by exit polls. "Nobody seems to have won tonight" #IsraelElections

    Abigail and Danny at a bar in JerusalemImage source, Mark Lowen
  18. Postpublished at 20:15 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    As expected, it looks as though the Arab Joint List might have finished third. Exit polls suggest the alliance will win 13 seats. It has said, however, that it will not take any positions in government.

  19. Postpublished at 20:12 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    Michael Shuval
    Producer, BBC Arabic

    tweets, external: Likud supporters chanting at party's headquarters: "Bibi is the next Prime minister"

    Likud supporters celebrate after release of exit polls in IsraelImage source, Michael Shuval
  20. Postpublished at 20:10 Greenwich Mean Time 17 March 2015

    The final results from the election are not expected until early on Wednesday morning.