If Israelis voted their fears, these were not entirely irrational fears, they were based on the history of the region.

''We have proven that we know how to be a fighting opposition,'' Herzog said

Senior US officials were caught by a genuine sense of surprise with word of Isaac Herzog's trouncing.

“Israel has chosen. We take note of the outcome of the democratic elections and welcome the peaceful way they were conducted.''

‘’What is important at this stage is not to isolate Israel,’’ said Italian MEP Fulvio Martusciello, President of the European Parliament delegation for relations with Israel, in a declaration made after Israel's general elections which saw a clear victory of Benjamin Netanyhu’s Likud party.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu for his victory in Tueaday’s general elections.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way to a fourth mandate after elections for the 20th Knesset, the 120-member Israeli parliament, took a dramatic turn in the early morning hours on Wednesday.

Exit polls by Israel's leading television channels showed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party drew even with Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union in the election on Tuesday, making the formation of the next government a serious challenge for both candidates.

5,883,365 registered Israeli voters had the chance to cast ballots Tuesday for the 20th Knesset, Israel’s 120-member parliament, an early election that has become a referendum on whether to give Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from Likud a third consecutive mandate or his rival Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog the opportunity to form the next government.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has picked a veteran Italian EU official, Fernando Gentilini, as new EU Special Representative for the Middle East Peace Process for an initial period of one year, ‘’in an effort to relaunch the process as quickly as possible,’’ her office announced Monday.