Israel's ruling Likud party and its main rival Blue and White party are tied at 32 seats each, putting the country's longest serving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on a shaky ground with his right-wing bloc falling five short of a majority in the 120-member Parliament.

According to the Times of Israel, Netanyahu's Likud and centrist challenger Benny Gantz's Blue and White stood at 32 seats each after counting of 90 per cent of ballots were completed. The elections were held yesterday. The secular Yisrael Beitenu party won nine seats, making its leader Avigdor Lieberman the king-maker in the elections, as predicted earlier in the exit polls.

Netanyahu called the snap election after failing to form a governing coalition with a viable majority after April's vote.