Benjamin Netanyahu claims victory in Israel election

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel’s election after exit polls showed he had erased his centre-left rivals’ lead with a hard rightward shift in which he abandoned a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state.

Difficult coalition talks still lie ahead, in a politically divided country where no one party has ever won an outright majority in parliament.

Isaac Herzog, Mr. Netanyahu’s chief opponent and head of the centre-left Zionist Union, said, “Everything is still open” and that he already had spoken to party leaders about forming a government.

But after days in which Zionist Union appeared poised to defeat Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud, the exit polls late on Tuesday put the two parties in a dead heat. Mr. Netanyahu sought to seize the momentum, taking to Twitter to portray the photo finish as a triumph that defied earlier predictions.

Political commentators said Mr. Netanyahu seemed to have the easier path to forming a cabinet, with the support of traditional rightist allies — which would put him on course to becoming Israel’s longest serving leader. But he would also need the backing of kingmaking centrists, who were non-committal on their future moves after the polls closed.

Mre. Netanyahu has focussed on Iran’s nuclear programme and militant Islam. But many Israelis had said they were tiring of the message, and the centre-left campaigned on social and economic issues, surging in polls before election day.

Opinion polls in the run-up to the ballot had shown Zionist Union with a three- to four-seat advantage over Likud, suggesting the public had warmed to Mr. Herzog, who won over voters with flashes of wit after enduring being lampooned for his short stature and reedy voice.

An initial count gave Likud a 32-24 seat lead over Zionist Union but that was based on votes from 57 per cent of the polling stations. Final results were not expected until later on Wednesday.

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Source: Thehindu

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