With this outcome,a new chapter of rift
has opened between U.S. and Israeli leaders over Palestinian statehood
and Netanyahu's stiff opposition to Iran-US nuclear deal.
Actually Israel is concerned over
increased Iranian role in the fighting to defeat ISIS in Iraq and
Syria with the support of US led coalition bombarding on key ISIS
strategic bases.Even Tehran managed to keep President Bashar al-Assad
in power throughout the country’s four-year civil war. While Israel also
believed that Iranian-backed Hezbollah supported Houthi rebels-a Zaidi
Shia group to control Yemen .
On the contrary,the White House said the
United States will re-evaluate the best way to bring about a two-
state resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict following Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election victory.
White House further stressed that
Netanyahu's election pledge to block the creation of a Palestinian state
runs against US policy.
World leaders like UK Prime Minister
David Cameron tweeted his congrats to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu on his victory and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper,
who said “ Israel has no greater friend than Canada but US President
Barack Obama had not yet called Netanyahu rather avoided to
congratulate the new Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.
White House spokesman Josh Earnest assured that "The president in the coming days will also call Prime Minister Netanyahu."
Israel is the America’s strongest and most stable ally but Netanyahu early this month infuriated the White House when he delivered an explosive speech to the U.S. Congress criticizing nuclear deal with Iran.Consequently,47 Republican senators wrote to the Iranian leadership to tell them that Congress will need to approve any deal Obama may make with Tehran over its nuclear program.
Israel is the America’s strongest and most stable ally but Netanyahu early this month infuriated the White House when he delivered an explosive speech to the U.S. Congress criticizing nuclear deal with Iran.Consequently,47 Republican senators wrote to the Iranian leadership to tell them that Congress will need to approve any deal Obama may make with Tehran over its nuclear program.
The US State Department clearly said
that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's victory in the Israeli election
will not hamper US efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran.
"We've been long familiar with the views of the prime minister on Iran. We don't think that his win has impacted the Iran negotiations, or will," said State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
US Secretary of State John Kerry is in
Lausanne for talks with his Iranian counterpart to reach a framework
accord to rein in Iran's suspect nuclear program before a March 31
deadline.
The Israel vote also reflected the Israelis skepticism over any efforts to find peace with the Palestinians.
With the massive support of
ultra-hawkish, Netanyahu is set to become the country's longest
-serving premier. Likud said in a statement that Netanyahu intended to
form a new government within weeks and negotiations were alreadyunderway
with leaders of smaller parties he saw as likely coalition partners.The
Joint List of Arab parties emerged as the third-
largest party with 14 mandates in the election in which 65.7 per cent of the nearly 5.89 million eligible voters participated.
"Against all odds, we achieved a great victory for the Likud," Netanyahu told supporters while declaring victory for his Likud party.
"I am proud of the people of Israel, who in the moment of truth knew how to distinguish between what is important and what is peripheral, and to insist on what is important," the 65-year-old premier, known for his hawkish views, said.
According to final results, Netanyahu's
ruling Likud party won 30 seats in the 120-member Parliament -- the
Knesset, comfortably defeating the Zionist Union led by Isaac Herzog on
24 seats in a mandate considered a clear victory in the fractured Israeli polity.
EU foreign affairs chief Federica
Mogherini has congratulated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on
his election victory but stressed the need for the peaceful
resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
"The EU is ready to work with both
sides and the international community, including partners in the Middle
East region, to see the State of Israel and an independent,democratic,
contiguous, sovereign and viable State of Palestine, living side by side
in peace and security and mutual recognition," it added.
