RAMALLAH: On Tuesday, Israeli elections result in a victory for incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Likud party. The victory was bitter-sweet, as surprising gains for the center party Yesh Atid put it in second place at 19 seats, followed by the Labour party in third at 17 seats. The controversial pro-settler Jewish Home party finished lower than predicted, at fourth place with 12 seats. The elections were seen as a major blow to Netanyahu, whose Likud won only 31 seats, an 11 seat loss. There is an almost even split in the 120 seat Knesset with a predicted 61-62 seat right wing bloc and a 58-59 seat center-left bloc. It has been speculated that centrist Yesh Atid, the party led by former television talk show host Yair Lapid, will join in the coalition with Netanyahu and thereby mitigate the rightward swing of the Likud and Jewish Home parties. Shelly Yachimovich, leader of the once dominant Labor party, has stated that she will not enter any coalition with Likud. Netanyahu has 42 days to form a working coalition. BN
