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JERUSALEM, April 9-- Exit polls of the Israeli elections on Tuesday show a race too close to call, where leaders of both rival parties have declared victory. Incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the Likud Party, announced "a clear-cut victory" on his Facebook page, while the former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White party, tweeted "We have won!" The three leading exit polls showed different breakdowns for possible coalitions after the elections, but one common denominator was the advantage of Netanyahu in leading the right-wing bloc which had more seats than the rival center-left bloc. Initial official results are expected in the early hours of Wednesday morning, where several more parties, allied with either side, may have the chance to cross the 3.25-percent threshold to change the political landscape. "The picture right now is completely unclear. There are possible scenarios in which neither of the big parties are able to form a coalition," said Julia Elad-Strenger of the Department of Political Sciences at Bar Ilan University. "The center-left bloc will have a very difficult time in creating a coalition. But the right bloc will also have difficulty," said Oded Eran, a senior researcher at the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies. While the Likud has won 33 to 36 seats, there are several small right-wing parties that Netanyahu will need in order to form a coalition. This might increase the pressure on him to pay a high political price for leading the next government. | 
