Netanyahu claims victory in parliamentary elections

A Likud party supporter reacts after hearing exit poll results in Tel Aviv March 17, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

The centrist Kulanu party, headed by Moshe Kahlon who is not committed to either blocs, won 9 to 10 seats and will be the tipping scale between a right wing and a center-left coalition. In a statement, Kahlon said Tuesday evening that he would decide his next moves only after the results are tallied in the next couple of days.

The exit polls also showed the Joint Arab List winning 12 to 13 seats in the parliament. The alliance was formed in January as the small Arab parties united as the electoral threshold would rise from 2 to 3.25 percent of the votes in early 2014.

Yair Lapid, whose center Yesh Atid party came in fourth with 11 to 12 seats, also affirmed his party's performance.

"We went on this elections after a challenging term and bad polls early on. And here we are, the largest center party with a double digit number of seats, with the realization that we are here to stay and remain a political force for years to come," Lapid.

According to the exit polls, the dovish bloc narrowly leads the hawkish bloc in the parliament, with 56-57 seats for the center- left camp and 54 seats for the right wing and ultra-Orthodox parties.

In the exit polls, 15,000 Israelis were interviewed out of 5.8 million eligible voters outside polling posts across the country. The results were released right after polls closed at 10 p.m. ( 2000 GMT).

Under Israel's proportional representation system, voters vote for parties rather than individual candidates. The Prime Minister would be the one who could form a wide and stable coalition of at least 61 members, not necessarily those who won the majority of votes.