meanwhile incumbent prime minister benjamin netanyahu of the likud party has also claimed victory these are live pictures from the headquarters and salivated that were celebrations at the party headquarters let's go to straight to harry fawcett who is now live for us right there harry i understand new exit poll numbers have come out benjamin netanyahu is due to speak set the scene there. that's right i mean we've been waiting for better or not you know to come here and speak for some time now his arrival appeared to be delayed perhaps for this with very reason because just before you came into the role here you only numbers came out from the two main t.v. channels suggesting that rather than trying best oh perhaps even falling behind the blue and white party it was in front is look at in front that the five to thirty four that is the latest and i think we're about to hear now from actually not you know him so. so he's taking in the other ration of this but huge crowd but a very very exuberant and the sufferer's crowd. and he is preparing that with his wife sarra by his side as she so of

showed a tight race between guns his centrist new and white party and netanyahu the right wing likud party. let's go now to hurry for cities lie for us from ben netanyahu could party headquarters in tel aviv and harry expecting exit polls anytime no. that's right you know we're getting some initial reports of the exit polls but we're not yet confident enough to to declare them but it does seem that it is very close and the closer it is the better news that is for benjamin netanyahu he has been. really frenetically going out around the country on his social media throughout the day trying to warn his likud supporters that there is a real danger of his right wing government being overtaken of fulling to the efforts of blue and white and benny gantz saying that it is a major. crisis in terms of complacency among the could voters and so he's been on beaches telling people to get out of the water and go to the go to the to the polling stations instead and we have actually just had confirmation of the first exit polls coming from israeli channel twelve news could on thirty three seats in one hun

with two—thirds of votes counted in israel's general election, the likud party of prime minister benjamin looks to be on course for a narrow win, with the help of far—right parties in a likely governing coalition. but his main rival, benny gantz, declared victory himself after polls closed. within hours, mr netanyahu is also due to hear details of corruption charges, which he denies. the bbc‘s yolande knell sent this report from tel aviv. at the end of the voting came the first predictions, this poll giving political newcomer benny gantz a narrow lead over the prime minister. but both men have now claimed victory. translation: the largest party is the one that needs to be mandated by the president and form the government. translation: i want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart. you have brought an amazing, almost inconceivable achievement. it is an almost unimaginable achievement, in the face of hostile media, and the likud has actually grown dramatically. benjamin netanyahu, who has corruption charges looming, has been fighting a tough campaign to win a fifth term in office. his ri

but the likud party leader benjamin netanyayahu is seekinga fifthh term as prime minister he has had the at publi backing us president donald trump and that's considered to be a positive thing. an israeli circles as it stands righght now both men are actuauy sayi that ththey have. won i suppose it depends how y u do the couounting. more important in israeli politics how you make e deals afterwards that's your captain or is s trying to set up t the l aviv headquartrters of the likud party catherine tell us about the mood thahat tell u us what people are saying. well t the music iss raw t the o yoyou they'd beenn hoping for ag paparty here tonight but it said well they're all some. celebrations going on it itt dos feel a little bit f forced their small groupss of people johnn saying. b. b. i is the king of israel bt some of the smiles are a bit at drool when it haha to be said n. members of the likud campaign say as s say that despite the is veryry tight exit polls -- which could spell bad n news benjamin netanyahu it's not confirm that they'd likike to point outut t e exit pollsls hav

with most of the votes counted, netanyahu's likud party and gantz's newly formed blue and white party have both secured 35 seats in the knesset, but netanyahu has a clearer path to forming a coalition government with the help of his right-wing allies. on tuesday night, netanyahu addressed supporters who repeatedlyly chanted, "bibi, kig of israel." >> it is a night of colossal victory. colossal. i am very moved the people of israel put their trust in me again for the fifth time. a greater trust, even. i intend to quickly finish the work in order to form a national stable government. amy: tuesday's election came just days after benjamin netanyahu vowed to annex israeli settlements in the occupied west bank in defiance of international law and a week after netanyahu thanked president trump for recognizing israel's sovereignty over the occupied golan heights. netanyahu ran for re-election despite facing possible criminal indictments in three corruption cases. netanyahu's chief rival was benny gantz, a former chief of staff of the israel defense forces. on tuesday, he, too, claimed victory

is mounting a stiff challenge to for term prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his right wing likud party were in jerusalem. on the ark thank you so much for your company everyone. it is crunch time for british prime minister theresa may she's been on a whirlwind european tour ahead of a crucial issue summit tomorrow and just days before the u.k. scheduled departure from the bloc she met with french president in myanmar calm and paris and earlier she was here in berlin for talks with german chancellor angela merkel may once an extension to the leaving date is thought that berlin favors a long extension but paris once a short while the prime minister's office simply said she and meryl had agreed that britain should not leave the e.u. without a deal. just as with briggs it to resume his arrival at the chancellery didn't go as planned the british prime minister was obviously a little too early and merkel wasn't there to welcome her it was only after to resume a went inside that both leaders came back out for compulsory handshakes but smiles can't hide the fact that the german chancellor and

mounting a stiff challenge to fourth term prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his right wing likud party were in jerusalem for you and a harrowing experience the journalist who crossed the syrian border and she was seven months pregnant to film a friend who'd become a chore hardest janina fiend i said that was abducted and first in captivity she tells her story about a year and islamist attention. great to have you along everyone so it is crunch time for british prime minister tree some a she is on a whirlwind european tour ahead of a crucial summit tomorrow and just days before the u.k. scheduled departure from the block. she arrived in paris just moments ago to meet french president in my recall earlier she was here in berlin for talks with german chancellor angela merkel may once an extension to the leaving date as thought that berlin favors a long extension but paris once a short while the prime minister's office simply said she and merkel had agreed that britain should not leave the e.u. without a deal. just as with breaks it to resume his arrival at the chancellery didn't go as pla

is mounting a stiff challenge to four terms prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his right wing likud party for interest of for you and eight harrowing experience for a journalist to cross the syrian border while she was seven months pregnant the film friend who had become a jihad is janine a friend actually was abducted and gave birth in captivity she tells us her story about a year and islamist attention. on way iraq thank you so much for your company everyone. it is crunch time for british prime minister theresa may she's on a whirlwind european tour ahead of the crucial e.u. summit that's going to take place tomorrow and just days before the u.k. scheduled departure from the bloc she's due to meet french president french president in money i might call any moment now earlier she was here in berlin for talks with german a chance on the america may once an extension to the leaving date and it's thought that berlin favors a long extension but paris favors a short one the prime minister's office simply said she and merkel had agreed that britain should not leave the e.u. without a deal. jus

have both made victory speeches as partial vote tallies from tuesday's election showed the ruling likud partyikely to have enough seats to form a government without the support of smaller parties. eu leaders will meet in brussels later to consider a request by theresa may to delay brexit until 30 june. the president of the european council, donald tusk, has suggested that the uk may be asked to accept a much longer extension of up to a year. mrs may has been trying to win the support of germany's chancellor merkel ahead of the summit. the us attorney general, william barr, has said he intends to release a restricted version of the long—awaited report on russian election interference within a week.

start working a given just one example in the south of the country which is one of the poorest the likud party is doing much though it's a touch of that style party then they label about the this is inconceivably of the labor party wants to do any better gentleman as we wind down the clock i want to give you a scenario here and it seems odd to be talking about the scenario given we've only just had an election but. this is a scenario of another election given that israel often has early elections given that prime minister netanyahu could be indicted and they might have to be early elections anyway how do you think it could pan out further we've talked about the future of this blue and white alliance we've talked about the future if there is a future for the labor party if they were to be a vote a key for all start with you in the next twelve months or so what what does this fight tell us about the next one if i can put it that way. yes very good question i believe that the selection is a promo or rehearsal. before the next elections and i keep asking myself. what would be the results if netany

|j support his likud party, but could those still have an impact?and complex question, especially because the indictments themselves are coming up injuly, so indictments themselves are coming up in july, so netanyahu indictments themselves are coming up injuly, so netanyahu will have three months now, many people believe that he will use these three months to try and pass what in israel is called a french law, in other words, a law granting him a presidential style immunity so that these indictments presented against him injuly, these indictments presented against him in july, may these indictments presented against him injuly, may be august, won't be able to be presented against him, he won't be able to be charged, as long as he is prime minister. so many people saw this election as almost a personal reprieve for him, notjust political. but there is another side to the coin that has been highlighted by analysts here and it is that the israeli economy is doing well and israeli security is doing well and israeli security is doing well and, well and i

another four years of unthinkable for this young student guggenheim voted for netanyahu is likud party in the previous elections but this time has voted to go to the new blue and white party headed by former army chief of staff benny gantz i think his time is coming go to serve his country well i think after ten for years the really the time has come to switch parties and have. take the premiership a new country to hopefully better and more secure places. when israelis go to the polls on tuesday they have a wide range of issues to consider and a record number of parties to choose from economy and security are usually the top priorities for voters but this election is slightly different. in essence these are vital issues for israelis but they're not necessarily the big determinants of votes because we have a situation where the voters focusing primarily on the issue of netanyahu his ten year long governance over israeli society thirteen years in total and the corruption charges against him. despite facing an indictment on a string of corruption charges netanyahu can still count on a str

the day say also show media calling on the likud voters saying you need to go out to the ballot boxes unless there's been a when we're going to see arab parties in coalitions with the white blue and white list but then we saw exactly the same fear tactics coming out from this side again on social media sending messages out saying that the likud is the same in the eighteenth lies now benjamin netanyahu according to the polls should be quite confident that he would be at the end of the day even if he doesn't get the majority of votes is likud party doesn't get the majority of votes in the knesset the israeli parliament he should be still the one who would be able to form a coalition at the end of this election you have to also remember that he is strong of the move of the israeli the american embassy to jerusalem is strong of the u.s. recognition of israel sovereignty over the golan heights and that just as we foster today's even and nouns in the last the speech that he would and next and impose israeli rule over the settlements in the occupied west bank and not only the settlements but the house both both considered illegal by the internationa

kitchell parties but more niche sector parties and they will try to fight for if each other and the likud party for the best position so we can take much longer than one expects you make the point you'll see that these two parties have more than half the vote is the idea of a blue and white i even against. likud coalition is that completely out of out of the question do you think it's just just the way the numbers stack up is interesting. well the number suggested that it's tempting but it depends what you believe what bending down said in public or to send behind closed doors and we called it that he might do it i think some of the blue and white as light as members of the likud to come over to germany from there and they might want to be part of the next government but i think there would be great resistance wishing the blue and white it's been resistant so so imo among the likud party so i think at the end of the day it will go it will go to delight for the blue and white because it's not a real it's an alliance if they want to find any group to stay together staying in the position and do i

the latest numbers from israeli tv exit polls suggest the likud party of benjamin netanyahu and the bluehite alliance led by former army chief benny gantd are neck neck. knell reports from tel aviv. yolande: at the end of voting him the first prediction. this poll gives political newcomer benny gtz and narrow lead over the prime minister. both men have no claim to victory. benjamin netanyahu, who has corruption charges looming, has been fighting a tough campaign to win a fifth term in office. his main rival, benny gantz, has won pular support with a strong military record and promises of change. some in israel vote along religious lines, others on key security.e in this poll there were more than 40 parties to choose from. the next prime minister will have to build and lead a coalition government. this election could reshape the political landscape. re voters, mr. nine yahoo! made a campaign pledge to make jewish deaf mr. netanyahu made a campaign pledge to make jewish said -- mr. netanyahu made a campaign pledge to make jewish ments in the west bank. israelisupermarket, made their electi

is mounting a stiff challenge to for a time prime minister benjamin netanyahu and his right wing likud party are interested. only a hard thank you so much for your company everyone well it is crunch time for british prime minister teresa mayes she is on a world wind european tour ahead of a crucial if you summit tomorrow and just days before the u.k. scheduled departure from the bloc she's due to. meet french presence in many around my car any time now earlier she was here in berlin meeting the german chancellor angela merkel on may once an extension to the leaving dates it's thought that berlin favors a long extension while paris favors a short while all the prime minister's office simply said she and merkel had agreed that britain should not leave the e.u. without a deal. as with other aspects of brakes it maes arrival at the chancellery didn't go to plan the british prime minister was obviously a little too early and medical bills in there to welcome her it was only after theresa may went inside that both leaders came back out to do the compulsory home takes but the smiles can type the fa

the prime minister benjamin netanyahu's likud party is neck and neck with the blue and white party of chief, benny gantz. both men declared victory after polls closed. yolande knell reports from tel aviv. at the end of the voting came the first predictions, this poll giving political newcomer benny gantz a narrow lead over the prime minister. but both men have now claimed victory. translation: the largest party is the one that needs to be mandated by the president and form the government. translation: i want to thank you, from the bottom of my heart. you have brought an amazing, almost inconceivable achievement. it is an almost unimaginable achievement, in the face of hostile media, and the likud has actually grown dramatically. benjamin netanyahu, who has corruption charges looming, has been fighting a tough campaign to win a fifth term in office. his rival has gained popular support, with his strong military record and promise of change. some in israel vote along religious lines, others on key issues like security. in this poll, there were more than a0 parties to choose from. the ne

is mounting a stiff challenge to floor time prime minister binyamin netanyahu and his right wing likud party. and the friggin journalists across the syrian border to film a friend who joined a jihad a school johnny duff and elizabeth was kidnapped to give birth in captivity she tells us her story a four year held in detention by extreme. i don't know of a warm welcome to you i'm on the chiba british from mr tourism a has just arrived in berlin to meet chancellor angle of machall she is expected to meet the french president in london mccraw in paris later in the afternoon she's on a mission to secure french and german backing for yet another brics extension on the eve of four key e.u. summit may once the e.u. to extend the deadline for the u.k. has been drawn to june the thirtieth as it stands now the u.k. is due to leave the e.u. within without a deal at the end of this week. for weeks the british parliament has been the scene of chaotic debates with prime minister terrorism a note caught in between britain could see a no deal exit from the european union as early as friday may is hoping for

and of the one general is mounting a stiff challenge to prime minister binyamin netanyahu and his likud party we talked to our correspondent in jerusalem. and tripoli's only functioning airport closes as libya's warring militia face mounting international pressure to stop the fighting to build a listen to the military strong wind challenging the government already controls large parts of the country. helena will melt continue. british prime minister series of may is on a one thousand european to a head of a crucial e.u. summit tomorrow and just days before the u.k. said your departure from the blog she is due to meet french president in money on the cruellest soon as she was here in berlin meeting the. meccan name wants an extension to the leaving date it's thought but in favor of a long extension why paris favors a short one the prime minister's office simply said she and mikel had agreed that britain should not leave the e.u. without a deal. as with other aspects of breaks it may survival at the chancellery didn't go to plan the british prime minister was obviously a little too early and me

greater trust even he managed to take enough votes from right wing rivals to gain seats for his likud party without undermining support for his preferred coalition partners personally as well as politically the stakes have never been higher i think the main purpose of that anyhow in these elections are was to get a majority in the parliament in the knesset that will enable aim to make legislation that will give him immunity and protect him form the charges that he is going criminal charges it's going to face a few months israel's attorney general is due to hold hearings for netanyahu and his lawyers where they can challenge his intention to indict the prime minister in three separate corruption cases it's considered likely however that charges will be brought one of the key questions now is exactly what kind of a price the smaller far right parties might try to extract from netanyahu in return for their support especially if they're expected to go to the wire for him to help him defend against the corruption cases he faces and it's a price that could end up costing the palestinians more tha

well the incumbent prime minister benjamin netanyahu of the likud party has also claimed victory there were celebrations at the party headquarters that asked the exit polls began to appear that anyone who is expected to address his supporters but we may see the vote as a setback for the long term leader who has promised to annex jewish settlements in the occupied west bank ahead of the polls. i'm very excited that the people of israel gave me their trust for a fifth time and a bigger trust them before. and they will move i'm telling you again the people of israel gave their trust for us and this is a president i cannot remember when we got more seats according to most exit polls the right are going will continue to lead the state of israel in the next four years our correspondent gary foster was at the liquid head party headquarters in tel aviv. yes the second victory speech that we've heard so far this evening the first coming from benny gantz his main challenger and now this one some hours later coming from the leader of the likud party. and so now the prime minister of israel benjam

britain is mounting a stiff challenge to for prime minister binyamin netanyahu and his right wing likud party. correspondent in jerusalem. and guilty verdicts for the define leaders of the pro-democracy demonstrations in hong kong during the peaceful movement the so-called umbrella movement to shut down the city in a four months in a battle political rights and breach of autonomy from beijing. how did a woman. britain's prime minister to resign me is on a last issue european trip today to try and convince germany's angle of makkah and french president in manama crawl to agree to another extension to the brakes a deadline. arrived in berlin a short while ago for tourists but as with other aspects of bragg's it arrival at the chancery didn't go past plan the british prime minister had arrived a little too early and back it was not there to welcome her it was only after two reason he went inside that both leaders came back out for the composite saree handshakes for all the photographers of waiting to capture that moment of this berlin visit comes ahead of a special e.u. breakfast summit in bruss

though to support for the opposition labor party has collapsed in recent years they lost the twenty fifteen election to likud despite joining a short lived coalition with a party led by former foreign minister tzipi livni. a centrist party headed by former finance minister. has now joined forces with the israel resilience party which is led by benny gantz the former chief of staff of the israeli armed forces against is trying to bridge the political gap between left and right and could pose a serious challenge to netanyahu senior military officers are widely respected in israel some have even become prime ministers. a number of smaller parties have teamed up to try to get around the election threshold law which requires them to win at least a three point two five percent share of the vote to qualify for seats in parliament . some of these parties could end up in the next government coalition. seen as heads as we have seen the campaign leading up to the april ninth election has been a dramatic one to find out more about the current political mood in israel i'm joined by professor moshe similar man. he's well

one hundred twenty seats in the parliament prime minister benjamin netanyahu of the right wing likud party now seeking a fifth term in office he is the first sitting prime minister however due to be indicted on corruption charges continue to expand illegal israeli settlements no progress made towards establishing a palestinian state either so that's benjamin netanyahu his biggest challenges you have got the full military chief benny gantz and also ye of the blue and white coalition gans's interesting he led israeli forces actually during the gaza war twenty fourteen and on the campaign trail his focus has been on issues things like the rising cost of living and fighting corruption you've also got the gabay who is from the labor party which hasn't actually won an election in twenty years and there are. two palestinian israeli parties in the running kerry force it is our correspondent in west jerusalem looking at the battle for power. which of these men do israelis want as their prime minister for all the myriad parties and themes to loomed over this campaign the real fight remains benjamin

kitchell parties but more niche sector about this and they will try to fight for if each other and the likud party for the best position so we can might take much longer than one expects you make the point you'll see that these two parties have more than half the vote is the idea of a blue and white i even against. likud coalition is that completely out of out of the question do you think it's just just the way the numbers stack up is interesting. well the numbers suggest that it's tempting but it depends what you believe what many gun said in public court or dissent behind closed doors and we called it that you might do it i think some of the blue and white as light as members of the likud to come over to germany from though and they might won't be part of the next government but i think there would be great resistance wishing the blue and white it's big business and so so and most among the likud party so i think at the end of the day it will go it's we've got to decide for the blue and white because it's not only the it's in their lines if they want to find any group to stay together staying in

has come to mean opposing a two state solution quite openly and all the right wing parties with the exception of likud because the who does not have a platform but all the right wing parties have essentially stated their opposition to a two state solution in various forms either by proposing different kinds of partial an extension or even complete an extension depending on how far right they are and likud has not published a platform but on the ground they have been implementing a sort of de facto creeping annexation of parts of the west bank over recent years of course prime minister netanyahu in the few days before the elections indicated an intention to move ahead with an exciting settlements you know there's a lot of speculation about whether that will continue but it definitely doesn't look like israel is headed in the direction of a classic two state solution it's not even clear whether that solution is possible anymore thank you so much that was. our political analyst in tel aviv. now let's look at some other stories making news around the world today the dalai lama has been taken to hospital i

white alliance of challenger benny gantz is neck and neck with prime minister benjamin netanyahu's likud partyexit poll by israel tv has likud winning 36 seats in the knesset, blue and white on 37, and labour coming next with eight seats. but with 61 seats needed for a majority, coalitions with smaller parties are the norm in israel. our middle east correspondent, yolande knell reports from tel aviv. at the end of voting came the first predictions. speaking hebrew. this poll giving political newcomer benny gantz a narrow lead over the prime minister. but both men have now claimed victory. benjamin netanyahu, who has corruption charges looming, has been fighting a tough campaign to win a fifth term in office. his rival has gained popular support with his strong military record and promise of change. some in israel vote along religious lines. others, on key issues like security. in this poll, there were more than a0 parties to choose from. the next prime minister will have to build and lead a coalition government. during this campaign, a pledge to makejewish settlements in the west bank into par

are competing for one hundred twenty seats prime minister benjamin netanyahu of the right wing likud party is seeking a fifth term in office he is the first sitting prime minister due to be indicted on corruption charges he has continued to expand the israeli settlements and no progress has been made towards establishing a palestinian state that now its biggest challenges are from the so-called blue and white coalition led by people which include former military chief benny gantz who led israeli forces during the gaza war in two thousand and fourteen and the centrist candidate yet harry forsett reports now from west jerusalem on the battle for power. which of these men do israelis want as their prime minister for all the myriad parties and themes to loomed over this campaign the real fight remains benjamin netanyahu versus benny gantz israel has never had a better friend than you for israel's prime minister the strategy has been clear portray himself as the only politician capable of playing in the big league keeping israel safe and scoring wins such as last week's u.s. indorsement it was

governing coalition of parties represented in the israeli parliament the knesset and even if his likud party comes second at the polls that is where benjamin netanyahu has a distinct advantage. but there have also been persistent leaks not totally refuted that gantz could under certain conditions agree to serve with netanyahu in a unity government that would be the biggest twist yet in this bitter election season kerry forces al-jazeera west jerusalem still ahead on al-jazeera the race to contain cholera in mozambique nine hundred thousand doses of vaccine are on the way . hello again it's good to have you back well here across china we have seen quite a bit of rain of the last few days the monsoon rain is beginning to come into play across this area for hong kong no you're going to be seeing some clouds and possibly some rain on the increase over the next few days you had one day of a break but that's not the last too long up here towards north is going to be some of the heaviest rain we see in this region where you see the darker greens that means we could be seeing anywhere between one hu

benny gantz has announced that they have won this election but we did not hear anything from the likud partys, the projections, they are very interesting. they are almost had to head but the ability of each party now to find the next government is what is standing, striking. at the projection says that actually likud, the right wing still has the ability to form a government of 66 seats and these are preliminary projections. these are not final results of the elections but the winning party which is benny gantz has 5a seats and that means he might not be able oi’ and that means he might not be able or may be able to convince other parties from the right to actually join ina parties from the right to actually join in a coalition government. this election was about benjamin netanyahu, a referendum, whether to vote and keep benjamin netanyahu or for him to leave. these projections show that there is a huge possibility of not having benjamin netanyahu possibility of not having benjamin neta nyahu as the possibility of not having benjamin netanyahu as the israeli prime minister. you mentioned the

might not have made it over the threshold and that could be very damaging for mr netanyahu and his likud party so it's all still in the open because we have to see whether those parties can make it into the knesset and that would also depend on how this condition looks like it of course as well you know some of the leaders might have said before the election that they might want to form a coalition with this need to know them might also you know rethink their commitments so it's all not very clear at this point of the evening yet the real race may begin once the ballots have been counted and everything is tally our correspondent on ukraine we're almost we force in jerusalem tonight thank you. well it is crunch time for british prime minister to resume a she spent much of today on a whirlwind european tour ahead of an emergency e.u. summit tomorrow all of this just days before the u.k. is scheduled departure from the european union i'm a was in paris this evening meeting president maduro earlier in the day she was here in berlin for talks with german chancellor angela merkel may want an extensi

direction's netanyahu denies that these few division insisting his likud party has served the interests of palestinian israelis benjamin netanyahu is throwing everything he can at this campaign is he battles to stay in office face down corruption charges and cement his legacy but his opponents say that legacy will be permanently tainted by the way he's chosen to fight this election are a force that al-jazeera westerners. the iranian red crescent says he sanctions are preventing foreign financial aid from assisting flood victims iran special forces chief visited the flood hit south western khuzestan province on sunday the government has promised that all flood victims will be fully compensated least seventy people have died and more than eighty thousand have been moved to emergency shelters since the heavy rains began last month. thousands of supporters of the former brazilian president louis silva have rallied outside his present a year after he was jailed their existing is a victim of political persecution others though are celebrating a crackdown on the political elite that explains.

embrace a new dawn opinion polls put guns is blue and white coalition just ahead of messy house likud partybut the prime minister appears to have the best chance of forming another governing coalition. i'm just told you i had no major dollars but this is a sacred act this is truly the essence of democracy and we should be blessed with it but you need to choose well i cannot say what i can but i don't want to not hear so luckily that i'm happy to place myself at the service of the state of israel in the citizens of israel i'm happy to stand for the good of the citizens on a new path we call for a respectful and quiet day from all sides let's speak to a false idols intel of the forests at the likud party headquarters the main issue in this election harry seems to be next now this is being described as a referendum on the prime minister and has been scrambling i understand to rally last minute last minute voters. that's right if he's the issue that's dominated the election campaign he's also the person who's dominating this last day of it he has been out and about he's been on social media he'

appears to have edged out a win for a record fifth term the right wing bloc is expected to hand his likud party a solid majority the divisive election drew mixed reactions from israelis. i got what i wanted. just because in my opinion there's no better alternative. you can't just come out of nowhere and become a prime minister and the b.b.c. has all the experience and big achievement that shows how strong b.b. is now he can do whatever he wants to or to we exit polls have shown a deadlock with the center left blue and white alliance led by benny gantz he also declared victory but the optimism proved premature when it's changing the country he's been you know it's been going for a while it's almost maybe time for change i'm devastated absolutely devastated. we're surrounded by right wing radical people who want to any mall here or turris in this part we're never going to have peace in the countdown to the election netanyahu valid for the first time to annex parts of the occupied west bank for some this would all but and any hope for a two state solution with the palestinians. i think we have jus

the elections settle and i think the betting is still that prime minister netanyahu and likud with smaller parties to their right is going to have that best chance of forming a government, unless benny gantz so outperforms likud which nobody really expects at this point. liz: we do want to explain how this works. israel's relationship with the u.s. is very strong right now. president trump has not only talked the talk, he's walked the walk. he moved the u.s. embassy to jerusalem, declared israel's sovereignty at the golan heights. breaking news at this hour, exit polls are all over the place. both netanyahu and gantz are declaring victory. let's say benny gantz's blue and white party wins and subsequently somehow gets a majority. will that -- how will that change the relationship if at all between israel and the united states, president trump? >> i'm not sure it does. clearly, the president and his son-in-law jared kushner have got a terrific relationship with prime minister netanyahu, but as you said before, the blue and white, that coalition of former generals is extremely strong on national sec

coalition, essentially to extract as many demands as possible from prime minister benjamin netanyahu's likud party when negotiations begin. there's speculation about what might happen. some smaller parties, right-wing parties or religious parties, might band together to try to get more strength, more leverage in the negotiations with netanyahu. the likud party in terms what was they demand from him for joining his coalition, for supporting him. that's how this process plays out until the president officially says it's netanyahu who forms the next government, then netanyahu has initially 28 days to figure out how his government looks and then everyone asks for a two-week expense so it's six weeks. a key question here is what happens to those corruption investigations if and when the attorney general here hands down charges against the prime minister? that will be one of the key questions in these negotiations, natalie. >> oren lieberman in jerusalem, thank you. >>> we are just learning about julian assange's life inside the place he called home for almost seven years. cnn's selma abdel aziz says it

now for netanyahu's likud party and his chief opponent benny gantz in the blue and white party, thatrting enough of the other smaller parties. the last polls before the election, as you pointed out, they were friday. they show the gantz slightly ahead in the head-to-head with netanyahu, but netanyahu likely with the support of enough of those other smaller parties to get to that magic number of 61 seats. then it will be up to the president on the night to mike the call on who gets the chance to form a government first. interesting, he's no fan of netanyahu, but if the head-to-head is close, he will likely give netanyahu first shot at forming a government. if benny gantz wins the head-to-head convincingly, that opportunity could be given to him. so that's how it's going to work tomorrow when the polls close. >> all right. michael, you touched on this, but, again, mr. netanyahu's efforts to attract more far-right voters, is that working for him? have you heard more about how that's playing into the value of his campaign, given this very tight race? >> yeah, and that comes back to that

the state of israel in the next four years and our correspondent gary foster has more from the likud party headquarters . yes the second victory speech that we've heard so far this evening the first coming from benny gantz his main challenger and now this one some hours later coming from the leader of the likud party. and so now the prime minister of israel benjamin netanyahu he was very clear in that speech that he had one that is really could be benny gantz and more importantly in terms of the pragmatic next steps that the israeli right and what he said the right along with the leadership of likud will lead israel for the next four years he called this all unimaginable a victory given the circumstances he pointed back here towards us in the media ranks. and even seeing a chorus of boos from the crowd below so he is saying that despite what happened earlier straightaway after the polls closed at ten pm local time some four hours ago. giving either a dead heat or a victory of some few seats to the rival blue and white party now shortly after that has been recalibrated by the two main news

thank you for that harry foster my four is that likud party headquarters in tel aviv now over to her dad i mean who's also in tel aviv but at the blue and white coalition headquarters the blue and white coalition is a new centrist coalition led by the former military chief of staff benny gantz and yeah in the p.d. media personality how much of a threat obviously need to likud and they need the anti's time fishman and the breath of fresh air they claim to be is there a real difference between them and the court. but certainly they are. the first actually that was goes to benjamin netanyahu over the past decade or so and he is taking that very seriously as we just heard from harry now benny and you're left with the co-chair of the blue and white list have also had a very active day also should media calling on people to go to the polling station not that good turnout was good that they had a good indication that it was not enough he did urge them to in this increase in the list of coaches to still go out and that leaking was busy making lies not to believe it and to make sure that thos