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Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become Israel’s Prime Minister after provisional results indicate that the Likud is tied with Blue and White on 35 seats but will form a 65 seat coalition with five other parties.

After 97 per cent of the votes have been counted Likud won 35 seats, Blue and White 35 seats, Shas 8 seats, UTJ 8 seats, Hadash-Ta’al 6 seats, Labour 6 seats, Yisrael Beteinu 5 seats, United Right 5 seats, Balad-Raam 4 seats, Kulanu 4 seats and Meretz 4 seats. So far the New Right, Gesher and Zehut failed to get 3.25 per cent of the vote so have not won any seats.

Likud has so far won 26.27 per cent of the vote — the party’s best result since 2003 (when it won 38 seats under Ariel Sharon), and its best ever under Netanyahu. The Blue and White party led by Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid won 25.94 per cent of the vote. This is the first time since 1996 that the two leading parties both received more than 30 seats.

The ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism are currently in joint third place with 8 seats each. Labour and Hadash-Ta’al came joint fifth with 6 seats each. The New Right party, led by Naftali Bennett and Ayelet Shaked, is hoping soldiers’ votes, not yet counted could win them enough votes to enter the Knesset. The final 3 per cent of votes that will be counted today are referred to as “double envelopes,” which are the votes of soldiers, hospital patients, prisoners, women in shelters, election officials and Israeli diplomats posted abroad.

The UTJ’s 8 seats will be their highest number of seats won in an election. This reflects the high voter turnout among the ultra-Orthodox community.

Labour’s current 6 seats is a historic low for the party which dominated Israeli politics and led every Israeli Government until 1977. Meretz’s 4 seats is one seat less than it won in 2015.

The results put the right-wing bloc in the lead with 65 seats, while the centre-left bloc won 55 seats. Overall voter turnout is estimated at 68 per cent a decrease of 4 per cent in 2015.