Exit polls: PM gains in Israel vote, but short of majority

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a solid edge over his main rival in Israel’s third election in under a year, exit polls indicated Monday night, but it was unclear whether he can clinch the parliamentary majority needed to claim victory.

Exit polls on Israel’s main TV channels showed Netanyahu and his nationalist and religious allies winning 60 seats, one short of a parliamentary majority. The center-left bloc, led by former military chief Benny Gantz, was projected to win 52-54 seats.

If the official results from Monday's election match the exit polls, Netanyahu would receive a major boost ahead of his trial on corruption charges, set to begin March 17.

Netanyahu, the longest-serving leader in Israeli history, has been a caretaker prime minister for more than a year as a divided country has weathered two inconclusive votes and prolonged political paralysis. With opinion polls forecasting another deadlock, Netanyahu had sought a late surge in support to score a parliamentary majority along with other nationalist parties for a fourth consecutive term in office and fifth overall.

Miri Regev, a senior Likud member, proclaimed an "overwhelming victory" for Netanyahu's party.

“The nation had its say, a referendum that proved the trust of the people in Netanyahu and in the Likud, with all the indictments and all the attempts to depose Netanyahu,” Regev said.

Netanyahu tweeted a heart emoji and the word, “Thanks.”

Netanyahu's Likud party was projected to win 36-37 seats, a gain from September, when it won 32. Gantz's centrist Blue and White party, which ran on a message that the prime minister is unfit to lead because of the serious charges against him, was projected to win 32-33 seats, roughly the same number as in September.

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