Live: Netanyahu calls on rival Gantz to join in Israeli unity government, after losing majority

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu admits election results won't let him form the government, calls on rival Benny Gantz to unite.

"Our position: against Netanyahu," Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said during a visit to Oslo when questioned over his preferences for a new Israeli government.  

Benjamin Netanyahu's 10-year-long rule threatened by deadlocked Israeli polls

In a sign of the demanding negotiations to come, sources in Netanyahu's office said that he was cancelling a planned trip next week to the UN General Assembly in New York due to the "political context" in Israel.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his opponent Benny Gantz are deadlocked with nearly all votes counted,according to reports in Israel media. 

The exit poll numbers show a neck-and-neck fight between Netanyahu's Likud party and Benny Gantz' Blue and White alliance. Likud is projected to get around 31 seats, while the Blue and White alliance is pegged at 32. This means that the road to government formation is going to be tough for both sides. 

Israel's Lieberman calls for unity government

Israel's former defence chief Avigdor Lieberman, a possible kingmaker in the parliamentary election held on Tuesday, called for a national unity government after exit polls showed no clear winner at the ballot.

"We have only one option - a national, liberal, broad government comprising Israel Beitenu, Likud and Blue and White," Lieberman told a campaign rally in Jerusalem.

Supporters of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, his main challenger in the country's general election, were forced into a waiting game on Wednesday as exit polls showed a tight race. At Gantz's event, the mood was initially one of quiet excitement.

Several hundred young activists, some wearing t-shirts bearing the slogan of Gantz's centrist Blue and White coalition, waited impatiently for their leaders to emerge.

According to the official tally, 18.45% of votes have been counted, with 29.19% for Netanyahu’s Likud party and 24.38% for Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party.

 Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Benny Gantz awaited results from the country's general election on Wednesday after exit polls showed them locked in a tight race, leaving the country in suspense.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no victory claim or concession of defeat in a speech to his Likud party on Wednesday after exit polls showed no clear winner in an election race that was too close to call.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main election challenger, centrist party chief Benny Gantz, said on Wednesday it appeared from exit polls that the Israeli leader was defeated but that only official results would tell.

With a hoarse voice and appearing haggard after days of intense campaigning, Netanyahu appeared before supporters in the early hours of Wednesday and said he was prepared for negotiations to form a "strong Zionist government."

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger Benny Gantz awaited results from the country's general election on Wednesday after exit polls showed them locked in a tight race, leaving the country in suspense.

Israel voted in its second election in five months Tuesday that will decide whether to extend Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's term as the country's longest-serving prime minister despite corruption allegations against him.