The leaders of the three parties held coalition talks shortly after the results were released.
But that was before coalition talks with Labor fell apart.
The two parties nonetheless held coalition talks prior to the 1982 municipal election, but these ended in failure.
That would force both to open coalition talks with smaller parties.
With no particular deadline looming, the coalition talks could drag on for weeks.
That doesn't mean Labour should be planning for coalition talks in 2015.
Many Israelis are dismayed by the twists and turns that the coalition talks have taken in recent weeks.
However, they only had a plurality in the overall tally and coalition talks are taking place.
The coalition talks took almost two months to reach an agreement.
Are the coalition talks getting hung up on voting reform?