The leaders of Israel’s two main parties have both claimed victory in an early general election. With 99 percent of the votes counted, Tzipi Livni’s governing centrist Kadima Party was in first place with twenty-eight seats, while Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud Party was a close second with twenty-seven seats. Both need coalition partners to gather the sixty-one seats needed to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset. This puts the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu party led by Avigdor Lieberman in a key position after coming in third with fifteen seats. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports Netanyahu has a better chance of forging a coalition because of gains by right-wing parties who are his natural allies. Saudi Professor Mohammad al-Qahtani said the election results will hurt chances of lasting peace in the region.

Mohammad al-Qahtani: “I think you’re going to see a government maybe tilted toward the right with no change, with no acceptance of the Arab initiative for peace, so it’s back to square zero. And it is a problem when you have, you know, a government that’s not pushing toward peace, no matter how lenient you are in giving more peace initiative or willing to compromise. The other party is very recalcitrant and is not willing to move forward.”