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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara voting in the election on March 23, 2021.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara voting in the election on March 23, 2021.Photo by RONEN ZVULUN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
A woman casting a vote in the election in Israel on March 23, 2021.
A woman casting a vote in the election in Israel on March 23, 2021.Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images
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An Israeli Bedouin woman voting in Rahat on March 23, 2021.Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images
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There was no clear winner in Israel’s parliamentary elections on Tuesday, leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with an uncertain future.

Exit polls showed that both Netanyahu’s traditional bloc of right-wing and religious parties and his opponents came up short of the 61 seats needed to form a governing majority in the 120-member parliament, known as the Knesset.

By early Wednesday, updated exit polls on two of Israel’s three main TV stations projected an evenly divided parliament.

A third station gave Netanyahu’s opponents a one-seat advantage.

The virtual deadlock raises the possibility of lengthy coalition-building talks or even another election, which would be the fifth in the country in the past two years.

Despite the inconclusive results, Netanyahu, 71, claimed his Likud party had won a “great victory” with fellow right-wing parties.

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An Israel man casting his vote from his car on March 23, 2021.
An Israel man casting his vote from his car on March 23, 2021.dpa/picture alliance via Getty I
Signs supporting Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli election.
Signs supporting Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli election.Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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A woman voting from her car in Israel on March 23, 2021.
A woman voting from her car in Israel on March 23, 2021.Photo by Noam Moskowitz/picture alliance via Getty Images
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“It is clear that a clear majority of Israeli citizens are right wing, and they want a strong and stable right wing government that will protect the economy of Israel, security of Israel and land of Israel. This is what we will do,” he said on Facebook.

Exit polls have often been imprecise and the final results are not expected for several days.

With Post wires

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