LIVE BLOG: With 97% of votes counted, Netanyahu appears headed for record fifth term

Gantz to deliver statement at 7pm local time

Blue & White party leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid will deliver a statement to the media from their party headquarters at 7pm local time (12pm EST).

The two are expected to concede defeat to incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who appears poised to clinch a record fifth term in power.

Trump congratulates Netanyahu, says election victory 'good sign for peace'

US President Donald Trump congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu on his likely re-election, saying that his administration's long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan stands a "better chance" with him in charge.

Earlier, Trump's national security adviser John Bolton told a morning radio show that the so called "deal of the century" could be expected to be released "in the very near future."

Italian deputy PM congratulates 'my friend Bibi'

Far-right Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini congratulated the incumbent premier, bidding "good job to my friend Bibi Netanyahu and a hug to the people of Israel."

Hamas official says Israeli vote result 'irrelevant'

"All the parties are the face of the same coin - the coin of occupation," senior Hamas official Khalil al-Hayya said.

"There is no difference between the Israeli parties," he continued, rejecting the results of the election. "Armed Hamas pledge to continue to work to end the occupation and achieve our national goals," he added.

Presidential talks on gov't formation to be broadcast live in bid to boost transparency

President Reuven Rivlin will begin holding consultations with the heads of Israeli political parties on the formation of the next government at his residence in Jerusalem next week.

The decision was made in coordination with the head of the Central Elections Committee, Judge Hanan Meltzer. And in a historic first, Rivlin instructed that his meetings with various faction heads be broadcast live across media platforms "in order to promote transparency vis-a-vis Israeli citizens".

In Israel, the president is the one who assigns the task to the lawmaker he feels is best positioned to form a viable coalition after receiving recommendations from the heads of parliamentary factions. It need not be the leader of the party with the most votes, nor the leader of a party at all.

There has been much speculation as to who would receive the mandate from the president, with corruption charges pending against Netanyahu casting a major shadow over what appears to be an otherwise clear path to a record fifth term leading the government.

Indian PM Modi: "My dear friend Bibi, Congratulations!"

"You are a great friend of India, and I look forward to continuing to work with you to take our bilateral partnership to new heights," Modi writes in both English and Hebrew Twitter posts.

Bennett placing faith in tabulation of soldier ballots 

New Right co-leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett responds to results projecting his party will not make it into the next Knesset, vowing soldiers votes yet to be tabulated will push him over the threshold. 

"All my life I gave everything for this good nation. I have always been a soldier of the state-- in Sayeret Matkal [the elite IDF unit], a high-tech entrepreneur, as education minister, and in the cabinet of Operation Protective Edge [the 2014 Gaza War].

"Now, the soldiers will decide whether I continue to fight for them," Bennett vowed. 

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz congratulates Netanyahu

Far-right union demands justice, education ministries

Despite projected to win just five seats in the next Knesset, the far-right union of parties said it will demand two ministerial positions in coalition negotiations with Netanyahu. 

Union of Right-Wing Parties chairman Rafi Peretz said the ministries of justice and education would be a condition to sit with the Likud party which now seems on track to form the next government. 

Liberman says will not recommend Gantz for PM

Yisrael Beitenu head Avigdor Liberman said his party would not recommend Benny Gantz as the next prime minister, but stopped short of throwing his full weight behind Netanyahu to form the 21st Knesset.  

"The existing options are joining Netanyahu's government or staying in the opposition," the former defense minister said Wednesday morning. 

With 97.4% of the votes counted, Likud and Blue & White remain neck and neck with 35 seats each, with the right-wing bloc earning 65 seats. 

United Torah Judaism: 8

Shas: 8

Labor: 6

Hadash-Ta’al: 6

Union of Right-Wing Parties: 5

Yisrael Beytenu: 5

Kulanu, Meretz, and Ra'am-Balad projected to win 4 seats each

New Right, Zehut, and Gesher currently failing to pass the 3.25% threshold

Gantz remains hopeful despite 'dark skies'

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz says despite dark skies in vote results, the election is not over. 

"Friends, good morning- yes, good morning! Although dark skies appear...there is nothing final because there may be electoral movements and we may be able to develop political moves of one kind or another."

"They, our voters, sought hope and we gave it to them. They wanted another way and we drew it. We will not retreat from our public obligation to represent more than a million citizens who asked us."

"This is something else, an unprecedented historic achievement in our territory. We have something to be proud about and we will be."

Blue & White lawmaker says party won't sit in unity gov't with Netanyahu

Blue and White candidate Ofer Shelah insists the centrist party will not sit in a government led by the incumbent premier. 

"We will not sit in a government led by Benjamin Netanyahu, period," Shelah told Channel 13. "I want to remind you that the problem with this story is not with the parliamentary majority. The problem is with Netanyahu. He has been our prime minister for 10 years."

Right-wing parties call for Rivlin to tap Netanyahu for PM

The leaders of almost all right-wing parties declared they would recommend Netanyahu to form the next government. 

Low Arab turnout

A significantly low voter turnout was recorded among Arab-Israelis, with 50.4% of the population casting votes compared to 64% in the 2015 elections. 

Female representation 

With 97% of the votes counted, 29 female lawmakers have been elected into the next Knesset. This is equivalent to the number of women elected during the 2015 election. 

Latest projections

The latest counts give Netanyahu's Likud 26.5% of the vote, narrowly ahead of Blue & White at 26.1%. 

The ultra-Orthodox parties - Shas and United Torah Judaism - are said to win an impressive 8 seats each. 

The Arab Hadash-Ta’al and Labor are tied at six. Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beytenu and the Union of Right-Wing Parties are projected to garner 5 seats, while Moshe Kahlon's Kulanu and the left-wing Meretz look like winning 4 seats.

The Ra'am-Balad Arab alliance is set to just pass the electoral threshold with 4 seats. 

Remaining votes

Diplomat and soldier votes now being counted, with the latter in particular historically tending to skew right. 

This might be significant for those struggling to clear the electoral threshold of 3.25%, including Naftali Bennett's New Right party, which is currently at 3.14%. 

Conversely, the left wing Arab alliance Raam/Balad, which is at 3.45%, is not out of the woods yet. 

Netanyahu headed for fifth term

With 97% of votes counted, Netanyahu appears headed for fifth term as prime minister, according to just about every Israeli media outlet.  The right and religious bloc is projected to win 65 seats, leaving the center, left and Arab parties 55 seats.