Monday's election, Israel's third in less than a year, was called after inconclusive votes in April and September left the Jewish state in a political deadlock. Ballots were still being counted with official tallies expected later on Tuesday. But exit polls by three networks had Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party winning between 36 and 37 seats in Israel's 120-member parliament. That would mark the party's best-ever result under Netanyahu, who first served as premier from 1996-1999 and whose current tenure began in 2009.

The estimates gave Likud and its right-wing allies, including ultra-Orthodox parties, 59 seats – two short of a majority. Likud's main challenger, the centrist Blue and White party, was projected to win between 32 and 34 seats.