以总理宣布取得议会选举胜利

 　　JERUSALEM, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Israel's incumbent¹ Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory following exit polls showing him tied with opposition² center-left Zionist Union led by Isaac Herzog in Tuesday's parliamentary elections.

　　Meanwhile, leaders of the Zionist Union and other center-left parties said the right-wing celebrations are premature³ and urged the Israeli public to wait for real-time results to arrive in the next couple of hours.

　　The Zionist Union and the Likud are predicted to win 27 seats respectively in the 120-member parliament, according to the exit polls conducted by Israel's Channel 1 and Channel 10. Another exit poll, conducted by Channel 2, gave the Likud one seat lead over the center-left Zionist Union, with the former winning 28 seats. "Against all odds⁴, a great victory for the Likud, for the nationalist camp led by the Likud and the people of Israel," Netanyahu wrote on his Twitter page Tuesday evening.

　　Israeli right wing claims victory following exit polls, center-left urges wait for official results

　　Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom of the Likud told reporters in Tel Aviv on Tuesday that the polls clearly show Netanyahu will continue to lead the state of Israel.

　　"I think the results are very strong and show that many Israelis decided⁵ to come and vote for the Likud and keep the national camp in power and not enable the left-wing to take power, " Shalom said.

　　Netanyahu will "form a coalition⁶ in a short time" with his " natural allies" and have a "strong coalition," he added.

　　Israeli media outlets⁷ reported that Netanyahu contacted Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett in order to start negotiations⁸ to form a right-wing government.

　　Likud officials, however, were quoted by the Ha'aretz daily as saying that Netanyahu will try to form a unity⁹ government with the Zionist Union.

　　The center-left Zionist Union said that the Likud is misleading the public and trying to create an atmosphere to suit its needs.

　　"Likud keeps misleading the public," the Zionist Union said in a statement. "The right-wing bloc¹⁰ has shrunk. Everything is possible until the real results are in, when we will know which parties passed the electoral threshold and which government we can form."

　　"All the spins and statements are premature. A negotiations team has been formed in an effort to form a government led by Herzog," the statement read.

　　Nachman Shai, a lawmaker of the Zionist Union, told reporters in Tel Aviv it is too early to draw conclusions.

　　"I'm pleased on the one hand that the Zionist Union doubled its power, it's a major success. It may not be enough to form a government but it is too early to draw conclusions. We may build a coalition with other partners and prevent Netanyahu from forming one. Let's wait and see for a few days before we make any conclusions," he said.

　　The centrist Kulanu party, headed by Moshe Kahlon who is not committed to either blocs¹¹, won 9 to 10 seats and will be the tipping scale between a right wing and a center-left coalition. In a statement, Kahlon said Tuesday evening that he would decide his next moves only after the results are tallied¹² in the next couple of days.

　　The exit polls also showed the Joint¹³ Arab List winning 12 to 13 seats in the parliament. The alliance was formed in January as the small Arab parties united as the electoral threshold would rise from 2 to 3.25 percent of the votes in early 2014.

　　Yair Lapid, whose center Yesh Atid party came in fourth with 11 to 12 seats, also affirmed his party's performance.

　　"We went on this elections after a challenging term and bad polls early on. And here we are, the largest center party with a double digit¹⁴ number of seats, with the realization¹⁵ that we are here to stay and remain a political force for years to come," Lapid.

　　According to the exit polls, the dovish bloc narrowly leads the hawkish¹⁶ bloc in the parliament, with 56-57 seats for the center- left camp and 54 seats for the right wing and ultra-Orthodox parties.

　　In the exit polls, 15,000 Israelis were interviewed out of 5.8 million eligible¹⁷ voters outside polling posts across the country. The results were released right after polls closed at 10 p.m. ( 2000 GMT).

　　Under Israel's proportional representation system, voters vote for parties rather than individual candidates. The Prime Minister would be the one who could form a wide and stable coalition of at least 61 members, not necessarily those who won the majority of votes.

1 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

4 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

7 outlets   

n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店

参考例句：

• The dumping of foreign cotton blocked outlets for locally grown cotton. 外国棉花的倾销阻滞了当地生产的棉花的销路。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They must find outlets for their products. 他们必须为自己的产品寻找出路。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

9 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

10 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

11 blocs   

n.集团，联盟( bloc的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The division of Europe into warring blocs produces ever-increasing centrifugal stress. 把欧洲分为作战集团产生了越来越大的离心效果。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The policy of the two blocs was played out. 把世界分为两个集团的政策已经过时了。 来自辞典例句

12 tallied   

v.计算，清点( tally的过去式和过去分词 )；加标签（或标记）于；（使）符合；（使）吻合

参考例句：

• The girl tallied them with her eyes for a moment. 新娘用目光把这些化妆品清点了一下。 来自教父部分
• His account of the accident tallied with hers. 他对事故的陈述和她的相吻合。 来自辞典例句

13 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

14 digit   

n.零到九的阿拉伯数字，手指，脚趾

参考例句：

• Her telephone number differs from mine by one digit.她的电话号码和我的只差一个数字。
• Many animals have five digits.许多动物有5趾。

15 realization   

n.实现；认识到，深刻了解

参考例句：

• We shall gladly lend every effort in our power toward its realization.我们将乐意为它的实现而竭尽全力。
• He came to the realization that he would never make a good teacher.他逐渐认识到自己永远不会成为好老师。

16 hawkish   

adj. 鹰派的, 强硬派的

参考例句：

• My staff's advice that first day was amazingly hawkish. 在第一天，我的僚属们的意见是令人吃惊的鹰派意见。
• Antiwar groups fear Barack Obama may create hawkish Cabinet. 反战团体担心巴拉克·奥巴马可以创建强硬派内阁。

17 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。