In the final stretch of the campaign, PM rejected Palestinian statehood and castigated foreign activists for funding Arab votes — bringing right-wing voters ‘home’ to his Likud party

Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah says Christian religious sites in Arabian Peninsula must be razed in accordance with Muslim law

Its leader had vowed to ‘do everything to oust Netanyahu'; that likely didn’t happen, but the party is set to snag 12 seats

At party headquarters, skepticism about Netanyahu’s ability to close gap with Zionist Union transforms into jubilation

Erekat responds bitterly to apparent Netanyahu victory

Likud, Zionist Union call on allies to form government after exit polls predict close election results; centrists hint at unity

‘Everything is open,’ Herzog tells an unconvinced crowd at party headquarters

But right-wing coalition seen likely to run into problems with US leadership, after Netanyahu ruled out Palestinian statehood