Israel's second general election in five months is too close to call, exit polls suggest.

Neither Likud's Benjamin Netanyahu, the incumbent prime minister, nor chief challenger Benny Gantz, head of the Blue and White alliance, was willing to declare victory in speeches after voting closed on Tuesday.

No clear winner

Exit polls released by Israeli TV stations suggest the election, a repeat of an inconclusive poll in April, gave right-wing Likud 30 to 33 of parliament's 120 seats, a slight drop from earlier forecasts, versus 32 to 34 for the centrist Blue and White alliance.

Neither had enough support, at first glance, for a governing coalition of 61 legislators, and Netanyahu’s ally-turned-rival, former defense minister Avigdor Lieberman, emerged as a likely kingmaker as head of the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party.

"Netanyahu has lost, but Gantz hasn’t won,” Reuters quoted Udi Segal, a prominent Israeli television news anchor, as saying.

Lieberman the kingmaker?

The revised polls suggest that without Yisrael Beitenu’s projected eight to nine seats, stalemate could ensue: Likud would have the support of only up to 55 legislators, down from 57 in the earlier exit polls, for a right-wing coalition. Blue and White could enlist the backing of no more than 59 to form a government.

"We have only one option – a national, liberal, broad government comprising Israel Beitenu, Likud and Blue and White,” said Lieberman, whose projected tally was double the result in April.

Coalition complications

Coalition-building could be complicated: Lieberman said he would not join an alliance that included ultra-Orthodox parties – Netanyahu’s traditional partners.

Gantz has ruled out participating in an administration with Netanyahu, if the Israeli leader is indicted on looming corruption charges.

Netanyahu is due to face a pre-trial hearing in October to argue against the charges being filed. An election loss could leave him more at risk of prosecution, without the shield of parliamentary immunity that his political allies had promised to seek for him.

The two main parties‘ campaigns pointed to only narrow differences on many important issues: The regional struggle against Iran, the Palestinian conflict, relations with the United States and the economy.

An end to the Netanyahu era would be unlikely to bring about a significant change in policy on hotly-disputed issues in the peace process with the Palestinians that collapsed five years ago.

Netanyahu said in his 3 a.m. speech at Likud election headquarters in Tel Aviv that he intended to establish a "strong Zionist government" that would reflect the views of "many of the nation's people". 

His description of a future administration appeared to open the way for Jewish parties not part of his current government to join. Netanyahu added that he will negotiate with other parties to form a governing coalition that is "committed to Israel as the nation-state of the Jewish people." 

"The government cannot base itself on Anti-Zionist Arab parties," he said. 

The PM made no claim of victory or concession of defeat, saying he was awaiting a vote tally. 

Gantz beamed with confidence as he told a rally of his Blue and White Party that it appeared "we fulfilled our mission", and he pledged to work towards formation of a unity government. "We will await the actual results," Gantz, 60, said.

"It is too early to call but it seems that we have accomplished our mission," he told his supporters at a post-election rally in the party's campaign headquarters in Tel Aviv, noting that it appeared from the exit polls that Israel's longest-serving leader was defeated but that only official results would tell. 

"The journey to mend the rifts in the Israeli society starts tonight," he said, adding that he is ready to speak to everyone.

The final election results can take more than a week, but partial results are published by the Knesset as the vote-counting proceeds, so a clearer picture will likely emerge within a day before the final tally.

(With input from Reuters, AFP)