Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory in the general election held on Monday.

“We won by believing in our own way and by the people of Israel”, Netanyahu tweeted and attached a picture of a man “three weeks in intensive care” who voted for Likud.

Meanwhile, the exit poll of Channel 13 showed the potential coalition led by Netanyahu’s Likud gaining 59 seats in the Knesset, two seats short of a majority.

According to the preliminary data by the Central Elections Committee, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party gained 31.49 percent of the vote, followed by the opposition Blue and White party of Benny Gantz with 23.90 percent.

The Joint List, an alliance of four main Arab political parties in the Zionist entity, took its usual third place with 11.60 percent, and the religious Shas is in fourth place with 8.24 percent.

Commenting on his victory, Netanyahu made clear what he wanted to “achieve in the coming years as the Israeli prime minister.

He added that this included applying “Israeli sovereignty” in the West Bank and the Jordan Valley, a “historic alliance” with the United States, and establishing peace with leading Arab states, as quoted by Kann News.

Source: Agencies