JERUSALEM • Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to hold a narrow lead early Wednesday in Israeli elections, according to exit polls, potentially paving the way for a return to power thanks to a boost from an extreme right-wing ally known for inflammatory anti-Arab comments.

The exit polls were preliminary, and final results could change as votes are tallied overnight. However, they pointed to a continued rightward shift in the Israeli electorate, further dimming hopes for peace with the Palestinians and setting the stage for possible conflict with the Biden administration and Israel’s supporters in the U.S.

Tuesday’s election was Israel’s fifth in less than four years, with all of them focused largely on Netanyahu’s fitness to govern. On trial for a slew of corruption charges, Netanyahu is seen by supporters as the victim of a witch hunt and vilified by opponents as a crook and threat to democracy.

The vote, like past elections, was extremely tight. The exit polls on Israel’s three major television stations all predicted that Netanyahu and his hard-line allies would capture 61 or 62 seats in parliament, giving him the majority in the 120-seat parliament needed to govern.

But the polls showed a small Arab party close to crossing the threshold required to enter parliament — a development that could erase his slim majority.

The vast majority of votes were expected to be counted sometime early Wednesday.

If Netanyahu’s allies emerge victorious, it could still take weeks of negotiations for a coalition government to be formed. Continued deadlock and a new round of elections are also a possibility.

In comments to reporters late Tuesday, Netanyahu stopped short of declaring victory. “It can flip. We don’t know,” he said. “We’re alive and kicking, possibly before a great victory, but we have to wait until the morning.”

Perhaps fearing that Arab voters would deny him victory, Netanyahu tweeted allegations of violence and vote tampering at Arab polling stations. He provided no evidence, and the country’s nonpartisan Central Elections Committee dismissed the “baseless rumors.”

Arabs make up about 20% of Israel’s population and have been a key factor in blocking Netanyahu in recent elections. But this time around their vote was split among three different factions, each of which was at risk of falling below the threshold, which would mean those votes were wasted.

Likud party chairman Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, cast their ballots Tuesday during Israeli elections in Jerusalem.

the associated press