Spain's midfielder Juan Carlos Valeron (l) looks to gain possession ahead of Israel's Michael Haim Revivo. (Reuters)

Haim Revivo scored an early goal for the home side but Raul equalised 18 minutes into the second half.

The result means that the Israelis keep their hopes alive of finishing second in group seven as the competition draws into its final stages. They have 10 points, just one behind second-placed Austria who they meet in their last match at home in October.

"I'm so happy that we managed to put a smile on all the fans who came to support us here, it's so, so important," said Israel coach Richard Moller Nielsen.

The attendance figure for the match - some 25,000 - was well down on what might have been expected as fans stayed away fearing another terrorist bombing.

Under other circumstances, for a match against such a high-profile opponent, the National Stadium might have been almost full to its capacity of 44,000.

The Israelis took an early lead when a well worked move on the left between Eyal Berkovic and Revivo ended with Berkovic sending the ball across the goalmouth for Revivo to head past Santiago Canizares.

The home team might have gone further ahead in the 13th minute when Eyal Berkovic hit a free kick which Canizares tipped on to the crossbar, but Avi Nimni, playing in the striker's role for Israel, failed to convert the rebound as he caught the side netting instead.

Good start

Spanish coach Antonio Camacho said: "Israel began well but we managed to get back into the match after about 10 minutes.

"We must not forget the fact that Israel were the home team and this makes a major difference. We cannot change the result and we will have to be satisfied with the point, but we will now have to beat Austria in Valencia (in September) to make sure of qualification for the World Cup."

As the Israelis tired in the pleasant evening temperatures, Spain eventually moved up a couple of gears and took over control of the midfield, applying more and more pressure on Nir Davidovich's goal.

The Israeli 'keeper made some heroic saves and was also aided by the woodwork on one occasion as he managed to keep a clean scoresheet until he had to be substituted before halftime. Davidovich needed attention on several occasions after clashing with Spanish players.

"He was excellent, but took several hard knocks before he had to be substituted, but (replacement) Dudu Awat did well, although he could have done nothing about the goal," said Nielsen.

The second half was played at a much slower pace but the Spaniards dominated from the start and eventually got the equaliser which was scored by Raul from close range in the 63rd minute after he received a square ball in from the right.