The Likud Party, led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has defied expectations and emerged as the winner in Tuesday's parliamentary elections, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Isaac Herzog, Israel's opposition leader, contacted Netanyahu on Wednesday to concede, Reuters reported.
The final results, as reported by Haaretz, showed Likud won 30 seats while the Zionist Union came in second with 24 seats.
The parties that follow are Joint Arab List (14); Yesh Atid (11); Kulanu (10); Bayit Yehudi (8); Shas (7); United Torah Judaism (6); Yisrael Beytenu (6); and Meretz (4).
Eli Yishai's far-right Yahad party has thus far failed to make the cut, though it has hovered near the minimum threshold throughout.
The results were a surprise due to the fact that pre-election polls published on Friday showed the Zionist Union in the lead. This prompted Netanyahu to promise that if he remained in power, no Palestinian state would be established, The Associated Press reported. He also railed against Israeli Arabs, The New York Times noted, for having the temerity to vote.