TEL AVIV (voa) – Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has called for the formation of national unity government after his Likud Party won Tuesday’s general elections.
Mr. Sharon asked all parties to join him in forming as broad a government as possible. But the Labor Party, which had its worst election results ever, says it will not join any government headed by Mr. Sharon.
Mr. Sharon says the elections results are “a victory for the Israeli people.”
Labor Party leader Amran Mitzna has conceded defeat shortly after Israel’s three main television stations predicted his right-wing Likud Party would win 32 to 36 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Polls project Labor winning 17 to 19 seats.
Exit polls indicate the third place finisher will be the secular Shinui Party. The party is projected to more than double its current six parliamentary seats to finish with 14 to 17 seats.
Twenty-seven political parties competed in the parliamentary elections. Senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat says Mr. Sharon’s victory means the peace process will be further suspended and violence will escalate.
Tight security prevailed in Israel during the elections. Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip are under a travel ban. Tuesday’s vote was plagued by one of the lowest turnouts in Israel’s history, with little more than 60 percent of the country’s nearly five million eligible voters having gone to the polls two hours before they closed.
Meanwhile, violence in the occupied territories claimed seven Palestinian lives Tuesday. Israeli troops shot four Palestinians in the West Bank town of Jenin, and three others were killed in an explosion that ripped through the house of a militant near Gaza City. Palestinians say the blast was caused by an Israeli missile fired from a helicopter gunship.
But the Israeli military denied involvement.
