Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has won an unexpected and a very dramatic victory in the just concluded election. With 99.5% of votes counted, Likud party has won 30 seats in the 120-member Knesset, defeating the Zionist Union opposition led by Isaac Herzog on 24 seats; which is a come-from-behind victory as the opinion polls in the last four days showed the Zionist Union with a four-seat advantage over Likud. The promises he made during the four day pre-election blitz seems to have paid off. These include a pledge on building settlements on occupied land and a complete abandonment of the negotiation of a Palestinian state.

Likud party said Netanyahu is intended to form a new government within weeks.  Netanyahu was quoted saying, "The citizens of Israel expect us to quickly put together a leadership that will work for them regarding security, economy and society as we committed to do, and we will do so.” He needs 61 seats in the Knesset to pull together a workable coalition, which would indeed make him the longest-serving prime minister after David Ben-Gurion, the country’s founding father.

Although this is a roaring victory, Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog said "everything is still open" and that he already has spoken to his party leaders about the possibility of forming a government. He says that he is aware of the fact that reaching numbers is much more difficult for his party. If Netanyahu keeps his promises, it would put him on a collision course with the already testy relationship with the Obama administration and also the European Union.

The Palestinians want their own state in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, as well as in Gaza. They say that they will pursue war crimes against Israel. Saeb Erekat, chief Palestinian negotiator in peace talks with Israel, said: "Mr. Netanyahu has done nothing in his political life but to destroy the two-state solution’, according to a Reuters report.

By Premji