Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu celebrated what he called a "major victory" in Tuesday's elections.
"Against all odds: a great victory for the Likud. A major victory for the people of Israel!" he wrote on his official Twitter account.
Soon after the election exit polls were announced at 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, Jewish Home Chairman Naftali Bennett called Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and congratulated him. “They agreed to begin accelerated negotiations for establishing a national government and working in cooperation for the security of the state of Israel and the nation of Israel.”
In an interview with Arutz Sheva earlier in the day, Bennett urged supporters not to fall into the complacency trap – and not to give their votes to Netanyahu, as anxious as they might be to ensure that he, and not Yitzhak Herzog, is chosen by President Reuven Rivlin to form the next government.
Although the polls showed Jewish Home losing support over the past several weeks, Bennett was optimistic that the party could beat the polls, which showed Jewish Home receiving 12 or 13 seats. “Twenty percent of voters make up their minds on the way to the polls,” he said. “That is an opportune time for us to grab them and convince them to vote for us.”
The final result appears to be much worse than what the polls indicated, however.