JERUSALEM (JTA) — A Hamas official said Israeli voters elected a "troika of terrorism."
The top three vote-getters in Tuesday night’s election were centrist Kadima Party led by Tzipi Livni, the right-wing Likud Party led by Benjamin Netanyahu, and the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu led by Avigdor Lieberman.
"This shows that the Zionist voters clearly start choosing the one who is most extreme in his speech, the one who wants war with the Palestinians," Fawzi Barhoum told Al Jazeera, Ha’aretz reported Wednesday.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said he would negotiate with the new government once it is put in place.
"The ascent of the Israeli right does not worry us," he told Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper. "In whatever form, the government, once in power, will ultimately end up with responsibility, pragmatism prevailing."
