India, Oct. 28 -- Tuesday's election in Israel left neither the bloc led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor that of his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, with the 61 seats needed to govern. The country now faces a final count and a process that could take weeks before it has a new government.

Exit polls by Israel's three main television broadcasters gave Netanyahu's bloc between 50 and 52 seats in the 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, and Eisenkot's between 49 and 53. Arab-led parties, which belong to neither bloc, were projected to win 17 to 19. No party in Israel has ever won a majority on its own.

Turnout was 77.7%, the highest in more than two decades, according to Israel's Central Elections Committee. Neta...