Likud chairman Benjamin Netanyahu spoke at party headquarters on Tuesday night, after exit polls predicted his bloc had won enough Knesset seats to form a government.
“Thank you very much, thank you very much. Today we received a tremendous vote of confidence. I would like to thank the citizens of Israel first and foremost. I saw amazing things - citizens over 90 or 100 years old who stood in line knowing that these are critical elections."
"Today we received a tremendous vote of confidence from the people of Israel. It became clear once again that the Likud is the largest party in Israel, by a significant margin, over all the other parties. We still have to wait for the true results, but one thing is clear: Our way, the way of the Likud, has proven itself," he said.
The audience chanted "Bibi, King of Israel" and Netanyahu responded, "A small correction - I am not a king. I need to be elected and I will be elected thanks to you. It became clear once again that the Likud is the largest party in Israel by a significant margin. I must point out that our partners in the national camp have also had significant achievements. Kudos to them, I spoke to them earlier tonight."
"We still have to wait. But the Likud’s way has proven itself. From 52 seats in the last elections, we are on the verge of a very big victory, and the magnitude of the change that has happened here in the last year should not be underestimated. The people want a different way, that's quite clear. They want security, to lower the cost of living. They want strength and not weakness, they want firmness with wisdom. They want to restore national pride, and want a Jewish state."