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2013 Election Shows a Slight Move to the Center for Israel

On January 22, 2013, shortly after the polls closed in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory for what would be his third term, but the election was not the expected landslide. The overwhelming favorite, Netanyahu was followed closely by Yair Lapid, who founded Yesh Atid, a new centrist party. With 99 percent of the vote in, Likud-Beiteinu, Netanyahu's party won 31 seats, followed by 19 seats for Lapid's party. The Jewish Home and the Orthodox Shas party took 11 seats each. Tzipi Livni's Hatnua (the Movement) party won six seats as did Meretz, a pro-peace party.

Lapid, the host of a popular Israeli television show, said in a speech after the election, "The citizens of Israel today said no to politics of fear and hatred. They said no to the possibility that we might splinter off into sectors, and groups and tribes and narrow interest groups. They said no to extremists, and they said no to antidemocratic behavior."

Next: Livni Joins Netanyahu's Coalition to Head Talks with Palestine
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