Updated | Opposition concedes, Netanyahu wins another term

The main opposition leader conceded defeat in Israel's parliamentary elections on Wednesday, handing a victory to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

"Against all odds: a great victory for the Likud," Netanyahu wrote on Twitter even before all the votes were counted. "A major victory for the people of Israel!"

His main opponent, Zionist Union co-leader Isaac Herzog, called Netanyahu to congratulate him and concede Wednesday, as eyes turned to coalition talks.

The pair went into Tuesday's election neck-and-neck but with 99.5 percent of votes counted, Likud had won the equivalent of 30 seats in the 120-member Knesset compared to the Zionist Union's 24 seats, the Central Election Committee said.

Neither had enough support for an outright majority but Netanyahu, as leader of the largest party, will have the first opportunity to form a coalition government with the help of smaller parties.

Netanyahu has governed the country for the past six years but been tested over his country's economy and Israel's fractured relationship with Washington. His election win followed a pledge, hours before polls opened, to abandon a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state — a move likely to antagonize the United States.

Official results are not expected until next week, with the process of building coalitions expected to take much longer.