Incumbent could turn defeat into another term in office as rival parties erect confected barrier to unseating him

• Israel election results – live updates

• Full report: Coalition talks loom in Israel

• Analysis: Rise of Palestinian parties will redraw political landscape

Hours before the final results from Israel’s elections were in, several things were clear. Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition had lost its mandate, and the opposition had a firm majority.

But most of Israel’s Jewish opposition ruled out governing with Palestinian-led parties, in the course of a racist election campaign in which Netanyahu painted Palestinian citizens as an enemy inside the state.