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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World
Megan White

Israel general election exit polls show candidates 'neck and neck' in country's closest race for years

Prime Minister and Chairman of the Likud Party Benjamin Netanyahu waves to supporters (Picture: EPA)

Exit polls in Israel’s general election show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz neck and neck in the country’s most closely-fought election for years.

The incumbent Likud is locked in a tight race with the rival Blue and White party in a fight which could end Mr Netanyahu’s ten year leadership.

Channels 12 and Kan TV gave the Blue and White party a narrow lead, while Channel 10 TV showed them in a tie in Tuesday's vote.

The channels also gave different breakdowns for possible coalitions, with two stations giving Netanyahu's right-wing bloc a slight parliamentary majority while Channel 12 had them tied at 60 seats apiece.

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, next to a voting booth (REUTERS)

No party has ever won a majority in the Knesset, with more than 40 parties contesting the election.

If Mr Netanyahu is re-elected, he could overtake David Ben-Gurion as Israel’s longest-serving prime minister.

There are 6.3 million registered voters in Israel, but many voters have decided to boycott this year's vote, accusing the Prime Minister of anti-Arab incitement.

But Arab political activists say the campaign has boosted turnout to 46 per cent with under an hour to go, while Israel's central elections commission says overall turnout is over 61 per cent.

Supporters of the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) political alliance celebrate after watching a TV poll at the alliance headquarters (AFP/Getty Images)

Arab parties could struggle to receive enough votes to enter parliament, potentially bolstering Mr Netanyahu's party and its hardline allies.

The election is largely seen as a referendum on Mr Netanyahu, who pandered to nationalist voters by vowing to annex the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

With neither side having a clear advantage, they will have to wait for official results to come in overnight.

Earlier, Mr Netanyahu filmed himself at the beach in Netanya and urged people to go vote or "wake up tomorrow to a leftist government".

Mr Gantz, a former army chief of staff who seeks to unseat Mr Netanyahu, shared a video in which he appears to assist a motorcyclist who was involved in a traffic accident.

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