( CNN ) Notwithstanding the polls , the valiant efforts of the Obama White House , a new unity on the Israeli left and a controversial term , Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's Likud party appears to have swept to victory in Tuesday 's Israeli elections . For many in Israel , the election turned on domestic economic issues and on personality . Pollsters had believed that the combination of rising prices , slowing growth and a controversial leader at the helm of the incumbent Likud would finally doom the man who was looking to notch a historic fourth term as premier on his belt . Not so much . While it will likely take some time for Netanyahu to form a new government , the reverberations of his victory will be felt fast in Washington . U.S. President Barack Obama has made no secret of his antipathy toward Netanyahu , and many believe that Obama has allowed disagreements over policy to spill over into personal animosity . And while the White House allowed it would work with whoever won the Israeli elections , it seems clear whom the President would have voted for had he been allowed to cast a ballot . So what will Obama do on the issues that have increasingly divided Israel and the United States ? Some believe the President will be all the more constrained in his negotiations with Iran , especially now that Israel has doubled down on the man who took to a joint meeting of Congress to publicly excoriate Obama 's hoped-for deal with the Islamic Republic over its nuclear weapons program . But the stronger likelihood is that the Likud victory will spur the administration to even more concessions to ensure a deal between Tehran and Washington . This is , after all , an administration that has written off the concerns of all of Iran 's neighbors ( and America 's allies in the region ) over a weak agreement that would likely do little more than pave the way toward a nuclear weapons capability for the ayatollahs . The reality is that where Obama might have been inclined to listen to the Israeli left ( which differed little with the Likud over Iran ) , he will find it easy to dismiss the clamoring of the Israeli right , never mind that it represents the will of the people of Israel . Then there are the negotiations with the Palestinians . Obama has never appeared personally interested in the peace process , though his administration has made repeated attempts to bring both sides to the table . But now Washington will be in an even tougher place . Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has all but abandoned the notion of bilateral negotiations toward Palestinian statehood , and has brought his case instead to the international community . He has promised he will continue to pursue recognition country by country , and through the United Nations , while at the same time seeking to prosecute Israel for `` war crimes '' through the International Criminal Court . In the waning days of the election , Netanyahu made Abbas ' job all the easier by reversing his earlier commitment to a Palestinian state , suggesting there would never be one on his watch . The Palestinians returned the favor , announcing that they would redouble their efforts at the ICC . This all puts Obama in a sticky spot . It will be tempting to just let the Palestinians have at Netanyahu , and the President will likely want to do just that . But what about the broader implications of allowing the International Criminal Court to proceed with accusations by a nonstate actor against a nonmember of the court , all the while insisting it has jurisdiction ? Few have any doubt that if unleashed to prosecute whom it wishes by parties without legal standing ( because `` Palestine '' is not , in fact , a state ) , ICC prosecutions of U.S. officials will not be far behind . Until last week , Obama administration policy was to try to walk back the entire ICC mess . It is in the best interests of the United States to continue that fight , but best interests are not always the prime mover behind Obama administration policies . Of course , all involved in this could also act like adults with real issues at stake -- Netanyahu and Obama could do the right things and put behind them the fuss over the speech to Congress , the personal backbiting , and the public bickering . But that would require a maturity that neither party appears to embrace , more the shame for all of us .
Benjamin Netanyahu looked set for re-election after Tuesday 's poll . Danielle Pletka : Victory may spur Iran to more concessions in U.S. talks .