Netanyahu snatches surprise victory in Israel’s elections

The right-wing Likud party of Israel’s incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu snatched a surprise victory in the country’s elections on Tuesday.

Likud won 30 seats in the Knesset, Israel’s 120-member parliament, while the centre-left Zionist Union electoral alliance – led by Isaac Herzog – took only 24 seats and the centrist Yesh Atid party, led by former Finance Minister Yair Lapid, won 11 seats.

The Joint List, an alliance of Arab parties, won 14 seats – the highest number since 1969.