Netanyahu ahead in Israel election

The party of Israel's hawkish ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu was set to come first in vote, initial projections indicated, but there was no guarantee the right-wing veteran could form a government.

Exit polls showed Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving premier, could clinch a narrow majority and make a comeback with the anticipated backing of ultra-Orthodox Jewish and ascendant far-right parties.

However, the tally could shift as official results come in, and whoever is tapped to form a government will need support from multiple smaller parties to clinch a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat legislature.

The margins appeared wafer-thin, as expected in the bitterly divided nation holding its fifth election in less than four years, but the early signs were positive for the 73-year-old leader of the Likud party.

Projections from three Israeli networks put Netanyahu's Likud on track for a first place finish, within 30 or 31 seats in the Knesset.

That number, combined with projected tallies for the extreme-right Religious Zionism alliance and the two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, gave the bloc backing Netanyahu between 61 or 62 seats, the first projections showed.

But previous Israeli elections have shown that slight variations as votes are officially counted can dramatically alter the outlook.