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[h=4]Israeli election close; Netanyahu calls strong showing 'victory'[/h]JERUSALEM — Voters in Israel headed to the polls Tuesday, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not allow a Palestinian state to be established if he is returned to power.
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Israelis voted Tuesday in an election expected to be a close-fought battle between the centre left and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ruled out a Palestinian state in a last-ditch appeal to the right. Duration: 01:19
Video provided by AFP Newslook
Vandalized posters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu near a polling station.(Photo: Abir Sultan, European Pressphoto Agency)
JERUSALEM -- Benjamin Netanyahu's conservative Likud Party was locked in a too-close-to-call race with its major opposition party in Israel's elections Tuesday night, according to exit polls that kept alive the prime minister's hope for a fourth term.
Exit polls of voters by two Israeli TV outlets showed his party tied with the center-left opposition Zionist Union at 27 seats each in the next Knesset, or parliament. A third station showed Netanyahu narrowly ahead, 28-27.
Netanyahu declared the tight outcome to be victory for his party.
"Against all odds: a great victory for the Likud, a major victory for the national camp led by the Likud, a major victory for the people of Israel,'' he tweeted in Hebrew.
The close results, if upheld when votes are counted, will likely touch off a scramble to build a coalition government and increase chances a national unity government could be formed. Running in a strong third place in the exit polls with 13 seats was the United List, a coalition of four small Arab parties who could try to block Netanyahu's return to office.
The exit poll results suggested Netanyahu's party was doing better than pre-election polls indicated. and that a substantial share of voters were willing to give their prime minister a fourth term despite a public feud with President Obama over Iran's nuclear program.
"The atmosphere at the Likud HQ is electrifying," said Avi Hyman, a Likud field coordinator, speaking from Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv. "Once again the people have chosen Netanyahu for the fourth time. Netanyahu is the only true statesman that can unite all Israelis to face the challenges ahead.This is a great night for Israel and the Jewish people."
But analysts warned that the exit polls are preliminary and the final results remained too close to call. Election officials will work through the night to count paper ballots collected from more than 10,000 voting stations around the country, as well as the votes of thousands of Israeli soldiers.
Officials said voter turnout was 71.8%.
Opinion polls before the election had shown a close race heading into the vote, with Netanyahu's opponents, led by Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union, with a small lead. The last available poll was published Friday, when a significant number of voters were still undecided, meaning the race was still too close to call.
Under Israel's complicated electoral math, however, the party with the most seats short of a majority does not necessarily get the prime minister's post, and instead the elections begin a period of negotiations with smaller parties toward building a governing coalition.
Without a decisive outcome, it will be up to the Israeli president, Reuven Rivlin, to decide who to call on to attempt to form the next government. Traditionally that task has gone to the leader of the party that receives the most votes. It could require weeks of political negotiations.
With his grip on power in peril, Netanyahu moved farther to the right in the closing days of the campaign in a bid to solidify support among splintered hard-right voters and galvanize his Likud base.
He pledged to block establishment of a Palestinian state, a reversal from past statements and at odds with much of the international community's support for a two-state solution to the issue. He also tried to rally supporters by warning his leadership was in jeopardy because Israeli Arab voters were turning out "in droves'' to oppose him. Arabs make up 20% of the Israeli population.
But after nine years in the prime minister's job, the election was a referendum on Netanyahu, who angered Obama and jeopardized the bipartisan support Israel has long enjoyed in the United States by speaking to Congress at the invitation of majority Republicans, in a snub to the president and minority Democrats.
Netanyahu announced his opposition to a Palestinian state Monday and reiterated that pledge early Tuesday after casting his ballot.
His reversal marks a second flash point with the Obama administration, which has been prodding Israel and Palestinians to make progress in peace talks on creation of an independent Palestinian state.
More recently, Netanyahu and Obama have clashed over U.S. talks with Iran on curbing that country's nuclear program. The Israeli prime minister says Iran can't be trusted to halt a program that he contends is intended to build nuclear weapons and threaten Israel's existence.
USA TODAY
Netanyahu appeals to backers to avert defeat Tuesday
In a video statement on his Facebook page Tuesday, Netanyahu said: "Right wing rule is in danger. Arab voters are going to the polls in droves. Left wing organizations are bringing them in buses," the Associated Press reported. "With your help, and with the help of God, we will build a nationalist government that will protect the state of Israel," he said.
Netanyahu also blamed "foreign funds that flow in vast quantities" to groups supporting the opposition for his party's tough race. It was a veiled reference to the role U.S. donors and a former campaign aide to President Obama have played in helping a non-profit group that opposes Netanyahu's policies. His party has been aided by Republicans in the United States.
About 37% of Israel's nearly 6 million eligible voters had cast ballots by 2 p.m. local time, down slightly from the 2013 election.
Zionist Union chairman Isaac Herzog, whose coalition was ahead in the polls, told reporters when he voted Tuesday morning: "These elections are about change and hope or despair and disappointment."
In a phone interview on the Channel 10 TV, Netanyahu ruled out forming a coalition government with Herzog saying he would seek an alliance with the ultra-national Jewish Home party, which also opposes Palestinian statehood, according to the AP.
USA TODAY
Netanyahu rival: A contrast in substance and style
Under Israel's electoral system, the leader of the party that gets the most seats in the 120-member parliament, called the Knesset, is given the opportunity to create a governing coalition of at least 61 seats by forming alliances with other parties.
Herzog would get that chance if his party comes out ahead, but if he fails to line up a majority of Knesset seats, Netanyahu could still come back to power by forming his own coalition.
Exit polls will be announced when voting ends at 10 p.m. local time (4 p.m. ET). Official results won't be completed until Wednesday.
Netanyahu's opponents staged a last-minute move of their own to win more support for the Zionist Union from centrist voters. On Monday night, Tzipi Livni, the party's co-leader, announced she was willing to forgo rotating the prime minister post with Herzog. Media reports have cited internal Zionist Union polls showing that the prospect of Livni serving as prime minister could cost the party votes.
USA TODAY
Netanyahu fights to stave off election defeat
Another wild card in the election is the vote of Israeli Arab citizens, who make up 20% of Israel's population. For the first time, four Arab parties are uniting as one party, the Joint List. According to the Joint List party, 10% of Arabs citizens voted by 11 a.m. local time, up from 3% at the same time in the 2013 election.
While the Joint List leadership has vowed not to join either a right- or left-wing government, it could gain enough seats to block Netanyahu's attempt to form a majority coalition. Polls showed the Arab coalition would win 13 seats, up from the 11 Arab parties won two years ago.
Ayman Oudeh, head of the Joint List, expressed pride at the opportunity to influence the Israeli election.
"Like every Arab citizen today, I'm excited to vote and be a part of history at a turning point that will fundamentally change the reality of life, specifically for Arab citizens but for all citizens in the country, as well," he said as he voted accompanied by his young children.
"I call on everyone to go out and vote this morning, and to believe that it can be better here. That we, Arabs and Jews, can create a better future for our children," he said.
Final polls released Friday showed Likud trailing the Zionist Union by two to four seats in the Knesset. Although Netanyahu is favored on security issues, voters prefer Herzog on domestic concerns, such as the high cost of living, which is resonating as a top issue in this election.
Contributing: Tovah Lazaroff in Tel Aviv; William M. Welch in Los Angeles
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