Isaac Herzog 

Israel’s opposition leader has conceded defeat in the country’s election.

Isaac Herzog, who heads the centre-left Zionist Union, said he had called prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to offer congratulations for his election victory.

Netanyahu’s Likud party appeared to have earned 30 out of parliament’s 120 seats and was in a position to build a coalition with nationalist, religious, and ultra-Orthodox Jewish allies. The Zionist Union won 24 seats.

A union of four largely Arab-backed factions became Israel’s third largest party, with 14 seats, giving the factions significant leverage in parliament for the first time. Ten parties in all made it into parliament.

Herzog, who days ago appeared poised to win, signalled he would be heading the opposition.

He said that Israel needed “another voice, a voice that offers an alternative and a voice that tells it the truth”.

Netanyahu’s return to power for a fourth term probably spells trouble for Middle East peace efforts and could further escalate tensions with the US.

Netanyahu, who already has a testy relationship with US president Barack Obama, took a sharp turn to the right in the final days of the campaign. In a dramatic policy reversal, he said he opposes the creation of a Palestinian state, a key policy goal of the international community.

Netanyahu later visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City, saying: “I’m touched by the weight of the responsibility that the people of Israel have put on my shoulders. I wish to say that I will do anything in my power to ensure the well-being and security of all the citizens of Israel.”