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In the wake of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisive reelection, the Obama administration is revisiting longtime assumptions about America’s role as a shield for Israel against international pressure. Angered by Netanyahu’s hard-line platform toward the Palestinians, top Obama officials would not rule out the possibility of a change in American posture at the United Nations, where the U.S. has historically fended off resolutions hostile to Israel.

After years of blocking U.N. efforts to pressure Israelis and Palestinians into accepting a lasting two-state solution, the United States is edging closer toward supporting a U.N. Security Council resolution that would call for the resumption of political talks to conclude a final peace settlement, according to Western diplomats. The move follows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decisive re-election Tuesday after the incumbent publicly abandoned his commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state — the basis of more than 20 years of U.S. diplomatic efforts — and promised to continue the construction of settlements on occupied territory. The development also reflects...

After earlier reports said that the Palestinian Authority was considering suspending all security cooperation with Israel in the wake of Binyamin Netanyahu's reelection, the PA officially announced Wednesday night that it was hoping to renew talks with Israel, regardless of who was Prime Minister. Nabil Abu-Rudeineh, the PA's official spokesperson, said that the PA has “no interest in the disposition of Israel's Prime Minister. The only thing we are interested in from any Israeli government is the recognition and acceptance of the two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the capital of the Palestinian state.” At a press conference in Ramallah, Abu-Rudeineh...

Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's victory in the Israeli election will not hamper US efforts to reach a nuclear deal with Iran, the State Department said Wednesday. The Israeli leader opposes any accommodation with Tehran and came to Washington during the campaign to address US lawmakers and denounce the agreement under negotiation as a "bad deal." "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 this week...

After staying mum on Israeli issues in the run-up to the election, the White House on Wednesday broke its silence -- answering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's victory with fresh criticism and making clear that a new rift has opened between U.S. and Israeli leaders, this time over Palestinian statehood. In its first public response to Netanyahu's election triumph, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said President Obama still believes in a two-state solution. This was after Netanyahu, shortly before the vote, reversed his stance and stated he would not allow the creation of a Palestinian state. Earnest acknowledged Wednesday that...

TEL AVIV— It was 10 p.m. and the rave beats were pumping at the Drive In Arena in north Tel Aviv. Recently built as the new home of the Hapoel Tel Aviv basketball club, on Tuesday it was the election night base camp of the center-left Zionist Union, led by Labor Party leader Isaac Herzog and Hatnua's Tzipi Livni. Young people pogoed to the music and waved Israeli flags. Parents held their children aloft as crane cameras swooped past. A movie screen behind the arena stage flashed with stylized portraits of Zionist Union leaders set amid animated fireworks. But if...

Landslide Victory: “BUMMER: Obama loses Israeli election to Netanyahu (UPDATE: includes funniest reactions to the losers)”I guess the Israeli’s are not as adverse to staying viable as Americans areAnd that is encouraging! Apparently you can still win even when the elections are rigged, the polling data is fraudulent and foreign DICKtators are working to defeat you:  This unauthorized funding casts an extraordinarily pernicious light on Obama, especially given that we as a nation ought not to interfere with an ally nation’s election... This is why the president has ordered the non-profits to scrub anything from their websites that leads a...

Binyamin Netanyahu appears to be headed towards a greater victory than predicted by exit polls, with 30 seats. "Zionist Camp" has 24. As counting of votes continues in the elections for the 20th Knesset, the Likud party may be headed for an even bigger victory than exit polls originally predicted. As of 4:25 a.m. (Israel time), 99.5% of the ballots have been counted and the Likud is leading the pact with 30 seats. The “Zionist Union” of Labor and Hatnua has 24 seats. The Joint Arab List has 13 seats, followed by Yesh Atid with 11 seats and Moshe Kahlon’s...

TEL AVIV — After a bruising campaign focused on his failings, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel won a clear victory in Tuesday’s elections and seemed all but certain to form a new government and serve a fourth term, though he offended many voters and alienated allies in the process. With 99.5 percent of the ballots counted, the YNet news site reported Wednesday morning that Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud Party had captured 29 or 30 of the 120 seats in Parliament, sweeping past his chief rival, the center-left Zionist Union alliance, which got 24 seats.

Thank the Lord for Bibi's success today. The prime minister of Israel is a magnificent leader--a statesman, diplomat, soldier, and honorable man who loves his country. Nothing like that could be said of Obama. When Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netenyahu says his most important task is to protect Israel from existential threats, everyone believes him. When Barack Hussein Obama says, "My first job is to protect the American people," it's a laugh line. Bibi served six years in the Israeli Defense Forces, where he displayed exceptional courage, determination, and strength. He fought in the Six-Day War (1967), War of Attrition...

Real time election results (in Hebrew) From what I can guess about 95% of the voting is in, and Likud leads Labor 23% to 18%. It's a rout, not even close. Even if ALL the remaining votes went to Labor, Bibi would win. Anyone who can read Hebrew, please verify.

Well it looks like he’s doing just that because his SuperPAC and his State Department has been funneling money and personnel to Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents in an effort to oust him in the upcoming Israeli elections, in favor of more left wing candidates. And this would of course benefit Hezbollah and the Palestinians.

Meanwhile, the mainstream media are at a loss for words. They had expected Netanyahu to lose, perhaps even by a wide enough margin to put Herzog in the pole position to form a new government. They had expected economic issues to trump security issues, which were Netanyahu’s focus. And they expected far stronger Arab turnout (as did Netanyahu). The real loser is President Barack Obama, who undoubtedly hoped for a poor showing by Netanyahu. And the even bigger loser is the Iranian regime, who will now face an emboldened Israeli leader who made the case for his re-election on the...

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has declared victory after a tight national election appeared to give him the upper hand in forming the country's next coalition government.

Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, called Jewish Home Chairman, Naftali Bennett, on Tuesday night. Bennett congratulated the PM on his victory. The two agreed to begin talks on establishing a nationalistic government and to act cooperatively on behalf of the security of the State of Israel and nation of Israel.

Polling stations opened at 7 a.m. on Tuesday as Israeli citizens headed for the ballots to vote for Israel’s 20th Knesset, bringing a heated campaign season to a close. Polls from the end of last week left options open for a tight race. TV exit polls were published at 10 p.m., as polling stations closed, after which official results began to roll in. The official final results won’t be publicized until Thursday.

Voting in Israel's national election has ended, with exit polls showing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a virtual tie with a center-left challenger. Exit polls conducted by the country's three major TV stations late Tuesday gave mixed results, showing an extremely tight race between Netanyahu's Likud Party and opposition leader Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union.

New York’s John F. Kennedy airport was bustling with Israelis this morning who were seeking to catch flights home. For many, their goal was to make it back in time to vote in the general elections being held today, Israel’s NRG reported on Tuesday. While for some their flight home today is just a coincidence, today’s elections are the main topic of discussion among the travelers in the terminal. Some of the travelers even joked that a debate could be held in the airport, with representatives from all parties, according to the report. One couple, David and Betty Gordon, told...

A lackluster Israeli election campaign is drawing to a close. The final polls [1] had Isaac HerzogÂ’s Zionist Union party set to emerge as the single largest party, with Prime Minister Benjamin NetanyahuÂ’s Likud finishing second. The polls put HerzogÂ’s list at anywhere from 24-26 seats in the 120-member Knesset, with Likud a corresponding four seats behind in each poll.Although the polls expect Likud to lose seats, they still appear ready to leave the right-wing bloc (i.e., the totality of right-wing parties including Likud and other rightist lists) as larger than the left-wing bloc (the totality of left-of-center lists)...

Polls scheduled to close 10pm local time / 4pm EDT. Turnout as of 9am was 7.4%, at 10am was 13.7%, and at 12pm was 26.5%. Exit polls will be released when polls close in less than 8 hours. For live coverage in English, click on link below: