Benjamin Netanyahu declares victory in Israeli election as exit poll shows him just short of overall majority and easily ahead of his main rival in country’s third vote in a year

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared victory on Tuesday in the country's third election in less than a year, after television exit polls showed him just a seat short of a governing majority in parliament.

A win for Netanyahu, 70, after inconclusive ballots in April and September, would be testimony to the political durability of Israel's longest-serving leader, who fought the latest campaign under the shadow of a looming corruption trial.

It would also pave the way for the right-wing Netanyahu to make good on his pledge to annex, after the election, Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, and the region's Jordan Valley, under a peace plan presented by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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