Triumphant Netanyahu comes under US pressure

[WorldNews]

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fresh from a sweeping election victory Wednesday, quickly came under pressure from Washington to step back from hardline campaign promises over the conflict with the Palestinians. As beaten rival Isaac Herzog ruled out forming a unity government, the White House gave a tepid acknowledgement of Netanyahu's victory, with President Barack Obama yet to call to congratulate him. After a close-fought campaign, Netanyahu's rightwing Likud party confounded expectations and won 30 of the 120 seats in parliament, against 24 for Herzog's centre-left Zionist Union. It was a victory Netanyahu himself described as "against all the odds", proving him once again to be Israel's master of political brinkmanship.

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