By Anees Barghouthy
JERUSALEM
The right-wing Likud party of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won 30 seats in Tuesday's Knesset (parliament) elections, based on figures released by Israel's official electoral commission.
Likud won 23.4 percent of the vote, followed by Isaac Herzog's center-left Zionist Union (18.67 percent) and Ayman Odeh's joint Arab list (10.54 percent), according to the electoral commission's website.
Fourth place went to Yair Lapid's centrist Yesh Atid party (8.81 percent), followed by Moshe Kahlon's Kulanu party (7.49 percent), Naftali Bennett's right-wing Jewish Home party (6.74 percent), Aryeh Deri's ultra-orthodox Shas Party (5.73 percent), Avigdor Lieberman's right-wing Yisrael Beiteinu party (5.11 percent), Yaakov Litzman's ultra-orthodox United Torah Judaism party (5.03 percent) and Zahava Gal-On's leftist Meretez party (3.93 percent).
Based on these percentages, Likud clinched 30 Knesset seats, the Zionist Union 24 seats, the joint Arab list 13 seats, Yesh Atid 11 seats, Kulanu ten seats, Jewish Home eight seats, Shas seven seats, Yisrael Beiteinu six seats, United Torah Judaism six seats and Meretz five seats.
Around 72.3 percent of eligible Israeli voters cast ballots, according to the commission.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin on Sunday will begin consultations with party representatives on the formation of the next government.
Any party in the 20th Knesset will need at least 61 of the assembly's 120 seats to form a government.
