Israeli election appears too close to call

February 11, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

JERUSALEM (AP) — Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and hard-line rival Benjamin Netanyahu both claimed victory Tuesday in Israel’s parliamentary election, but official results suggested the race was too close to call.

Right-wing parties — including Netanyahu’s Likud Party — appear to have won a clear majority of 64 seats in the 120-seat parliament, which would give Netanyahu the upper hand in forming the next government.

However, with more than two-thirds of the votes counted, Livni’s centrist Kadima Party had 29 seats, while Likud had 28. Those results could change by a seat or two when soldiers’ votes are tallied Thursday evening.

The winner of the election wasn’t clear in part because Livni could try to form a coalition with hawkish parties. It appeared one ultranationalist candidate, Avigdor Lieberman, could single-handedly determine the country’s next leader with his decision of whom to join.

Whoever comes out on top, the political wrangling was likely to drag on for weeks, and with it the fate of international Mideast peace efforts.

A win by Livni, who favors giving up land to make room for a Palestinian state, would boost President Barack Obama’s goal of pursuing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.

A government led by Netanyahu, who opposes concessions to the Palestinians, could put Israel and the U.S. on a collision course. Netanyahu says he would allow West Bank settlements to expand and is seen as likely to contemplate military action against Iran.

“With God’s help, I will lead the next government,” Netanyahu told a raucous crowd of cheering supporters chanting his nickname, Bibi. “The national camp, led by the Likud, has won a clear advantage.”

Soon after, Livni took the stage before a crowd of flag-waving supporters and flashed a V for victory sign. “Today the people chose Kadima. ... We will form the next government led by Kadima.”

Even if Livni could overcome the formidable obstacles and become Israel’s second female prime minister after Golda Meir, she would almost certainly be hindered by right-wing coalition partners opposed to her vision of giving up land in exchange for a peace deal with the Palestinians.

The election was called after she failed to put together a ruling coalition when scandal-plagued Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced he was stepping down last fall.

Nevertheless, applause, cheers and whistling erupted at Kadima headquarters in Tel Aviv as television stations began reporting their exit polls, with supporters jumping up and down and giving one another high-fives and hugs.

In his speech, Netanyahu told his supporters that he was proud of the gains by his hard-line party. He called for a broad-based coalition, but said he would first turn to his “natural partners in the national camp,” a reference to other hard-liners opposed to peace concessions.

Israelis vote for parties, not individuals. Since no party won a parliamentary majority, the leader of one of the major parties must try to put together a coalition with other factions — a process that can take up to six weeks.