Benjamin Netanyahu set for record fifth term as Israeli prime minister

But Benny Gantz, the former IDF general whose Blue & White alliance was established barely two months ago, said Israeli voters had opted for change and that President Reuven Rivlin should choose him.

• As it happened: the JC's live coverage of the election

Labour, the party that did more than any other to establish the State of Israel, slumped to possibly the worst showing in its history. Projections showed the seats won by Avi Gabbay’s movement was unlikely to reach double figures.

Meanwhile Mr Netanyahu’s centre-right rival Naftali Bennett seems set to lose his seat after the New Right party he launched with his political partner Ayelet Shaked was projected to fall short of the 3.25 per cent electoral threshold.

But Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beiteinu, buoyed by a Russian migrant vote, appeared set to confound polling expectations that it too would fail to win seats.

Also expected to enter the Knesset was the United Right list, which includes Jewish Home and the far-right Jewish Power parties.

The Strictly Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism were projected to win around 15 seats between them, roughly the same level as in the 2015 election, while both major Arab party lists were expected to cross the threshold, albeit with a reduced number of overall seats.

The left-wing party Meretz and the centrist Kulanu were also on course to win seats in a crowded Knesset while a predicted strong showing for Zehut, the libertarian party that supports legalising cannabis, did not materialise.