Prime Minister Benjamin Netan­yahu’s rightist Likud-Beitenu party came out on top in Israel’s election yesterday, exit polls said, but centre-left parties made surprising gains, potentially complicating coalition building.

Netanyahu’s party was forecast to win 31 seats in the 120-member Parliament, according to three different exit polls broadcast on Israeli television.

The new centrist Yesh Atid party was projected to come a surprise second, followed by the left-leaning Labour and far-right Jewish Home parties.

Israelis voted yesterday in an election that was expected to hand hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term, opening the way for a showdown with Iran and bolstering opponents of Palestinian statehood.

However, Netanyahu’s own Likud party, running alongside the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu group, looks set to win fewer seats than in the previous Parliament.

Ahead of yesterday’s ballot, analysts had speculated high turnout would benefit centre-left parties that have sometimes struggled to motivate their voter base.

Political sources said Netanyahu, worried by his apparent fall in popularity, might approach centre-left parties after the ballot in an effort to broaden his coalition and present a more moderate face to Washington.

Some 5.66 million Israelis are eligible to cast a ballot.

Full results are due today, opening the way for coalition talks that could take several weeks.

The lacklustre election campaign failed to focus on any single issue and, with a Netanyahu victory predicted by every opinion poll, the two main political blocs seemed to spend more time on internal feuding than confronting each other.

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