Education Minister Naftali Bennett conceded that he had lost his Knesset seat and that the New Right party had failed to clear the electoral threshold.
"I did the best I could for my beloved people," Bennett wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday evening after the Central Elections Committee found that the New Right had gained less than 50 votes in the latest recount and remained over 1,400 votes shy of the electoral threshold.
"After six years of service as a government minister, 100 campaign days and another week of struggle for every voice, I can say: I did the best I could for the people of Israel, my beloved nation," Bennett said.
"This time it was not enough.
"I have no complaints to anyone. I and I alone are responsible for the result.
"Some people mocked us for trying to pass the threshold :"It's pathetic, hopeless, desperate."
That does not matter.
"I would prefer to be struggling at the front and not among the mocking people from the gallery. We are not contractors of successes, we are messengers of endeavor. And I did everything I could. Only in this way does one succeed in studies, in high-tech, in the army, anywhere in life, by trying. Even if it seems all is almost lost. Sometimes it works, but not this time.
"As a minister of education, I want to convey to every student, student, entrepreneur, and every person with a dream - do not give up! Never give up a worthy cause! Even if it seems hopeless.
"Indeed, we have found irregularities in the polls and beyond, but they do not, in and of themselves, nullify all the election results. Our lawyers will examine the findings in the next two weeks, but at this stage we are moving on.
'I believe in the great Israeli spirit.
"I believe that our people have a great mission: to be a model state, and we all have a lot of work to do.
"I would like to thank my wife Gilat first and foremost for being my strength and happiness.
"I want to thank my partner, Ayelet Shaked, whom I consider to be the best justice minister in Israel's history. Together, over the past six years, we have held the steering wheel of the ship, positioned it to the right, and succeeded in changing the path of the State of Israel. The ship will continue to sail without us. It hurts me for the state that it and Ayelet, who is so talented, will part for a while, but I have no doubt that she will serve our people again.
"Thank you to the wonderful Alona Barkat who will continue to contribute greatly to Israeli society, to Matan Kahane who was a true friend and a fighter, to Shuli Moalem with her huge heart, to the brave Carolyn Glick, and to Uri Shechter.
"I give thanks to Tal Gan Zvi, the head of my staff, a gifted and talented man, and to every staff member of my bureau and the wonderful campaign leader.
"I give thank to all the volunteers in the campaign and in recent days. It was incredible what mobilization there was for the cause.
"I give much thanks to the Holy One, blessed be He, Whom I trust as always, and thank Him for the good and the bad..
"You will continue where I left off.
"And I promise: wherever I am, I will never stop being a soldier of the people of Israel.
"Yours with love,
Naftali Bennett"