With results still trickling in, it currently appears that Israel's veteran Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has done better than was widely predicted with his Likud emerging as the largest single party.

His existing bloc with ultra-nationalist and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties appear to be just short of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat parliament. However, analysts caution that this is subject to change because the early count was skewed towards areas known to have strong right-wing support.

A dramatic deadlock had been widely forecast as Israelis surged to the polls – with turnout reaching more than 77%.

In Israel's fragmented political system, the signs are that Netanyahu's main rival, the former army chief Gadi Eisenkot, would struggle to command a parliamentary majority without parties led by Israel's Arab minority.…