Incumbent could turn defeat into another term in office as rival parties erect confected barrier to unseating him

• Israel election results – live updates

• Full report: Coalition talks loom in Israel

• Analysis: Rise of Palestinian parties will redraw political landscape

Hours before the final results from Israel’s elections were in, several things were clear. Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition had lost its mandate, and the opposition had a firm majority.

But most of Israel’s Jewish opposition ruled out governing with Palestinian-led parties, in the course of a racist election campaign in which Netanyahu painted Palestinian citizens as an enemy inside the state.

Early indications suggest it will be some time before the shape of new government and who will lead it is clear

• Israel election – live updates

• Israel election: what we know so far

• Rise of Palestinian parties in Knesset will redraw Israel’s political landscape

Israel’s election appeared to have delivered no clear winner on Tuesday night after a historic turnout by voters for an election described by some as the most consequential in the country’s history, and marked by a record participation by Israeli Arab voters.

Exit polls published on Tuesday evening suggested that the opposition bloc of parties led by the former chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Gadi Eisenkot, would win most seats in the Knesset by a slight margin, edging out Benjamin Netanyahu’s right and far-right coalition despite the prime minister’s Likud emerging as the largest party.