Jerusalem:Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel's election on Monday after exit polls put his right-wing Likud party several seats ahead of its main challenger, the centrist Blue and White party.
The premier, who is under criminal indictment, tweeted that the results were "a huge victory for Israel", after polls released by three television networks gave Likud and its allies 60 seats -- one short of a parliamentary majority.
Israelis head to the polls for the third time in less than a year on Monday, after the two previous parliamentary races ended inconclusively.
Twenty-nine parties are running, but no more than eight are likely to break the 3.25% electoral threshold needed to enter the Knesset, Israel's parliament.
No party has ever won an absolute majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Typically, larger parties have to make alliances with smaller groups to create a governing coalition with a majority in parliament. After the election, the president will tap a party leader to try to form a coalition government.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his chief challenger Benny Gantz succeeded in building a coalition after September's vote, leading the Knesset to dissolve itself and hold new elections.
The conservative Likud party has dominated Israeli politics for much of the past 40 years, with Netanyahu as prime minister for the past decade.
Its election campaign has focused heavily on Netanyahu's leadership and close relationships with world leaders, most importantly US President Donald Trump. Since the White House unveiled its Mideast plan last month, Netanyahu has proposed a key plank in his platform.
Netanyahu has traditionally allied himself with Israel's ultra-Orthodox and religious nationalist parties to form governing coalitions. To garner support from the nationalist right, Netanyahu has promised to take steps toward annexing areas of the West Bank if re-elected.
The prime minister will go to trial two weeks after the elections for his indictment in three corruption cases. He has denied wrongdoing. Netanyahu's legal woes don't appear to have affected Likud's polling numbers.
(With inputs from AFP)
