JERUSALEM — Anxious Israelis watched as election results took shape on Wednesday after voters delivered a rebuke to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's far-right government, with the highest turnout in over a quarter-century. Exit polls suggested no clear winner and that weeks of negotiating could lie ahead.

Arab-led factions appear to have made a historic showing, but it's not clear if opponents of the government, who exit polls suggested have a solid majority in the next parliament, are willing to form a coalition with them. Issues around the Palestinians and their descendants remain incredibly sensitive in Israel.

Netanyahu was defiant early Wednesday as he tried to position himself to remain the country's longest-serving prime minister, praising Israel’s military achievements of the past three years. He dismissed the idea of a partnership with Arab parties — whose constituents make up 20% of Israel’s population — as treasonous.

"We must establish a strong, right-wing, nationalist government," said Netanyahu, who faced a strong challenge from his former military chief, centrist Gadi Eisenkot. "We must not endanger Israel and establish a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties."

Eisenkot has left the door open to partnering with Arab parties under certain conditions, including their recognition of Israel as a Jewish state and of Hamas as an extremist group, but some likely partners have ruled that out. Whether they will change their minds to force Netanyahu from office remains to be seen.

With 50% of votes counted, Netanyahu’s Likud party has 20.6% and Eisenkot's Yashar party has 16.8%. The count from Israel’s Central Elections Committee does not indicate how many seats each will have in parliament, the 120-seat Knesset.

The close results suggest that Netanyahu’s opponents were unable to capitalize on the anger and grief sparked by the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attack that triggered three years of war to decisively unseat him.

One clear loser, however, was far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, who for many Israelis represented the worst strain of Netanyahu's government, openly taunting Palestinian detainees and asserting that many in Gaza are "not even people."

Election turnout was at 77.7% of eligible voters, the highest since 1999. Final results are expected in the coming days, including from hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots yet to be counted.

Netanyahu faces a setback but not outright defeat

Voting reflected many Israelis' unease over Netanyahu's alliance with the far-right and anger over draft exemptions for the significant ultra-Orthodox Jewish population.

Exit polls by major Israeli TV stations suggested Netanyahu’s governing coalition shrank but that Likud would remain the largest party and best placed to be asked to form a government by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog. The president, however, isn't required to go with the party having the most seats.

The exit polls suggested that Netanyahu’s bloc and Eisenkot’s each won about 51 seats, and Arab parties won about 18. That sets the stage for weeks of political negotiating before a prime minister is declared — or another round of elections is called.

The easiest path to a parliamentary majority would involve Eisenkot partnering with Arab-led parties, but that could prove politically difficult. In a speech early Wednesday that focused on national unity, Eisenkot pledged to form a government and promised “a new era — an era of hope."

Arab-led parties could hold the key

Israel's Arab citizens are the descendants of Palestinians who remained in the state after its creation in 1948. They often face discrimination and are viewed with wariness because of their solidarity with the Palestinian cause. That suspicion intensified after Oct. 7, even though Palestinian citizens of Israel were also among those killed and abducted.

Netanyahu had warned that Arab parties could make or break the election, saying they were heading to the polls in “unprecedented numbers.” Netanyahu won’t work with the Arab-led parties, and they have also ruled that out.

The mood was joyful at the headquarters of the United Arab List, the lone Arab party to ever join a governing coalition, briefly, in 2021.

“We are here, we are not on the sidelines,” party leader Mansour Abbas declared.

If no one can put together a majority coalition, new elections could be held early next year. Israel held five elections between April 2019 and November 2022 because of a similar stalemate.

No single party has ever won an outright majority in parliament. Minority governments are possible, but they must rely on cooperation from parties outside the government to pass legislation.

Attitudes over a polarizing Netanyahu will shape days ahead

The race was widely seen as a referendum on Netanyahu's nearly unbroken 17-year rule. Israelis were divided even before the deadliest attack in the country's history. The resulting wars in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, along with settler violence in the occupied West Bank, have stoked worldwide outrage, straining ties with Israel's closest allies and fueling a rise in antisemitism.

Netanyahu’s supporters see him as someone who led Israel through a war of redemption. They think he is protecting Israel’s security and Jewish identity in the face of international pressure and liberal elites at home.

His detractors say that Netanyahu, beset by an ongoing corruption trial, dragged out the war in Gaza and its hostage crisis for political reasons. They say he is undermining Israel's independent judiciary and weakening its democratic underpinnings. And they accuse his government of allowing ultra-Orthodox religious Jews to avoid military conscription.

Eisenkot is viewed by supporters as a capable leader with sterling security credentials who could act against creeping illiberalism. His son and two nephews were killed in Gaza, and his backers believe that he feels deeply the pain that still courses through Israel.

Parties that likely would support Eisenkot have vowed to improve Israel's international standing and work to conscript ultra-Orthodox men while bolstering the independence of the judiciary.

Israel has found itself increasingly isolated over its conduct in Gaza and the West Bank. Public support among Americans has plummeted, and partners in Europe and elsewhere have slapped sanctions on Israel. Netanyahu faces an international arrest warrant over alleged crimes against humanity in Gaza, allegations he denies.

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Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Associated Press writers across Israel contributed to this report.

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