Israel Election Results Live: Netanyahu, Rival Eisenkot Both Claim Mandate After Tight Israel Election

Israel Election Results Live: Israeli voters delivered a rebuke Tuesday to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with exit polls indicating voters gave his opponents a solid majority in the next parliament. Whether those disparate parties can form a government is uncertain and will likely take weeks of haggling.

The easiest path would involve Netanyahu's main rival, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, partnering with Arab-led parties, but that could prove politically difficult and potentially alienate other opposition factions.

Exit polls released early Wednesday by major Israeli TV stations suggested that Netanyahu's bloc and Eisenkot's each won about 51 seats, and Arab parties won about 18. That would set the stage for weeks of political jockeying before a prime minister is declared - or another round of elections is called.

While Netanyahu's Likud could emerge as the largest party, voters, disappointed in his alliance with the far-right and angry over draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews, appeared to have shrunk his bloc's majority in parliament, jeopardizing his return to power.

Eisenkot said the exit polls show a "lack of confidence" in Netanyahu and he vowed to form a new government. Arab voters celebrated the exit polls while supporters of far-right parties aligned with Netanyahu expressed disappointment.

Netanyahu had yet to make a public statement early Wednesday, hours after the exit polls were released.