Exit polls indicate Netanyahu close to securing majority

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is poised to win a fifth term as prime minister, according exits polls from the Jerusalem Post on balloting Monday. 

The poll shows Netanyahu’s bloc, or coalition of parties, winning 60 parliamentary seats, one shy of the 61 required to secure a majority in the 120-seat Knesset.

The balloting Monday is Netanyahu’s third reelection bid in roughly a year. He is scheduled to go to trial in March on charges related to allegations he accepted gifts in exchange for political promises.

In April, Netanyahu’s bloc won 60 seats and could not form a government.

Israel is the United States' closest and longest Middle East ally.

President Trump and Netanyahu have a solid political relationship. Trump in 2017 recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and relocated the U.S. embassy there from Tel Aviv.