article_snippet: (CNN)Israel's ruling Likud Party pulled off a victory in Tuesday's election -- and it was a stunning one.
article_snippet: Yet despite this unpromising backdrop, Likud is on course to win 30 seats in the Knesset, six seats more than the main opposition Zionist Union -- headed by Isaac Herzog and Tsipi Livni, and an obvious favorite of the Israeli media establishment and Europe, Washington, and the West Bank.
article_snippet: The blow to the main opposition Zionist Union is particularly painful because some opinion polls had actually had CNN)Israel's ruling Likud Party leading Likud as the campaign drew to a close.
article_snippet: (Likud wasn't the only winner of the night --the
article_snippet: new center-right party Kulanu (All of Us), which focuses on the economy, also had a good showing, securing 10 seats).
article_snippet: Overall, the election results seemed to reflect the rightward shift of the electorate, with even voters who self-identify as centrists consistently expressing conservative positions on both the Palestinian issue and broader questions of national security.
article_snippet: Meanwhile, the numbers for the left in Tuesday's election -- a four seats for Meretz, 24 for the main opposition Zionist Union and 14 for the Arab List suggests the bloc is some 20 seats short of a viable coalition.
highlights_snippet: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won re-election in Tuesday's poll .
  