UPDATE | Netanyahu claims victory in Israeli election

JERUSALEM (AP) — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory in national elections as exit polls show his Likud party gaining ground on its main rival.

Addressing a jubilant gathering of supporters early Wednesday, Netanyahu praised them for an "almost inconceivable achievement."

Exit polls put Likud and the rival Blue and White parties in a tight race. But recent projections appear to be giving Likud a slight lead and in a stronger position to form a majority coalition in the 120-seat parliament.

In a speech repeatedly interrupted by cheering supporters, Netanyahu said that "I was very moved that the nation of Israel once again entrusted me for the fifth time, and with even greater trust."

He vowed to establish a right-wing nationalist government.

Official results are expected later Wednesday.

3:49 p.m.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger, former military chief Benny Gantz, were locked in a neck and neck race today as exit polls showed no clear winner in an election that was seen as a referendum on the long-serving leader.

With final results hours away, the early indications were that Netanyahu suffered a setback by failing to score a decisive victory. The 69-year-old prime minister's fate is clouded by a series of corruption investigations.

Two Israeli TV stations showed Gantz's Blue and White Party with a narrow lead over the Likud, while a third exit poll showed them deadlocked.

Yet two of the polls gave the Likud and its hard-line allies the upper hand in being able to form a parliamentary coalition, and a third poll put the two blocs in a tie.

In separate statements, both declared victory.

"We won! The Israeli public has had their say!" the Blue and White party said. "These elections have a clear winner and a clear loser."

It urged the Israeli president to "call on the winner to form the next government. There is no other option!"

Netanyahu said his right-wing bloc won a "clear victory."