Israel's widely predicted swing to the right was not as dramatic as expected at Tuesday's elections.

The big winner as the Jewish state went to the polls was, according to initial announcements of the results, Yair Lapid's newly formed party, Yesh Atid (There is a Future), which captured 19 Knesset seats.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected the idea of a Palestinian state with pre-1967 borders, saying it would lead to “Hamas 400 metres from my home”.

Mr Netanyahu told Israel’s Channel 2: “When they say, 'Go back to the 67 lines,' I stand against. When they say, 'Don't build in Jerusalem,' I stand against."

Likud – Yisrael Beiteinu
42 seats in the current Knesset
Latest polls: 34-36 seats

President Obama reportedly said after Israel’s announcement on the E-1 area that he has become “inured” to Israel’s “self-defeating policies” and that “Israel doesn’t know what its own best interests are,” Bloomberg columnist Jeffrey Goldberg has reported.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that Israel will build a fence along its frontier with Syria, warning that extremist forces have taken over on the other side of the border.

Speaking at the beginning of the weekly Cabinet meeting, Mr Netanyahu said that the Syrian regime was “unstable” and that the issue of Syria’s chemical weapons was worrying for Israel.

Israel’s Labour party leader said she would not form a coalition with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu due to the “radicalisation” of his Likud party.

During a meeting that took place with Labour leaders and members of the Knesset yesterday, Shelly Yachimovich said: "I aspire to be elected prime minister, but if I'm not, I will head the opposition.

Israeli President Shimon Peres has praised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for promoting “peace rather than terror”.

President Peres defended the Palestinian leader while implying that the more forceful approach of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman was not conducive to peace.

Right now, there is only one date that matters for Israel’s future: January 23 — the day after the general election.

Four Security Council members, including the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement on Wednesday attacking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to proceed with the E1 settlement plan.

The UK, France, Germany and Portugal said they “strongly oppose” the decision to build 2,612 housing units in East Jerusalem.