Israel's Netanyahu Claims Election Win That Defied "All Expectations"

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed "a giant victory" in elections Tuesday, boasting that his right-wing Likud party had defied "all expectations" in the country's third vote in less than a year.

After exit polls by three networks forecast that Likud and its allies were on track to win 59 parliamentary seats -- two short of majority -- the premier mocked those who "predicted the end of Netanyahu".

Some experts had argued that Netanyahu could struggle to secure re-election after being charged with corruption and facing a trial due to start in two weeks.

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