Jerusalem - Veteran Israeli politician Benjamin Netanyahu appeared on the cusp of returning to power Wednesday, with initial election results showing his alliance with the extreme right taking a narrow lead. “Netanyahu wants a decisive victory; Lapid hopes for a tie, Ben-Gvir celebrates,” read the front page of Israel’s influential Yediot Aharonot newspaper, as rivals of Israel’s longest-serving premier hold their breath.
With around 71 percent of the vote counted at 0630 GMT, according to the Central Elections Committee, Netanyahu could be set for a dramatic comeback. “We are close to a big victory,” he told supporters of his right-wing Likud party at a rally early Wednesday. But his main rival, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid, told his own supporters in Tel Aviv that “nothing is decided”, and that his centrist Yesh Atid party “will wait patiently... for the final results”.
The two rivals are vying for a majority coalition in Israel’s parliament, with exit polls putting Netanyahu’s bloc ahead after the country’s fifth election in four years. The former premier is buoyed by the rise of his extreme-right allies, who made major gains and are expected to emerge as the third-largest party. With final results still a week away, small parties whose seats could play a crucial role in coalition talks are teetering on the edge of the electoral threshold. 
The margins appear wafer-thin and previous elections have shown that slight adjustments during the count can make or break a government.