Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed a "great victory" in Israel's election - but exit polls put his party neck-and-neck with the centre-left Zionist Union.
Mr Netanyahu is fighting to remain as prime minister after his centre-right Likud won 27 seats, the same number as its main opponent, in the 120-member parliament, reported Channel 1 and Channel 10.
Channel 2 put Likud on 28 and Zionist Union on 27, with the figures coming out moments after voting ended.
The two will now try to build alliances with other parties in order to form the next government.
But the closeness of the result means both Mr Netanyahu and Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog face a serious challenge to create a coalition.
Much will depend on which candidate the smaller, centrist parties choose to back, and the leaning of a joint list uniting Israel's four Arab parties, which is expected to come in third.
The polls also reportedly showed the centrist newcomer Moshe Kahlon with enough seats to determine who will be the next prime minister.
But Mr Kahlon, who broke away from Likud, has not said which side he would favour.
Final election results are not expected until early on Wednesday morning, and it typically takes weeks of negotiations for a governing coalition to be formed.
Fourth term
Mr Netanyahu is seeking a fourth term in office and has cast the threat to his reign as a foreign-orchestrated bid to install a leader who might agree to Palestinian statehood or nuclear diplomacy with Iran.
In a last-minute appeal to his hardline base, the 65-year-old reiterated that a Palestinian state would not be created on his watch.
He told a news website that turning over captured territory to the Palestinians would clear the way for Islamic extremists to take control and attack Israel.
"Whoever ignores that is burying his head in the sand," he said. "The left is doing that, burying its head in the sand time after time."
His vow not to allow a Palestinian state goes back on a long-standing promise to the US, something that could strain troubled ties with Washington.
Mr Netanyahu brought the election on himself, calling the snap vote after firing centrist ministers from his fractious coalition just two years into its term.
John Costello is a Journalist in Tel Aviv, and he says the odds are stacked against Mr Netanyahu;
Originally posted at 9.05am
