Arab parties react with joy
Ehud Baraks dramatic victory was greeted with joy by Arab politicians, mixed with disappointment over the relatively low voter turnout in the Arab community.

A stunned NRP keeps quiet
The National Religious Party reacted with stunned silence to Channel 2s exit poll that gave it six seats in the 15th Knesset.

National Union bemoans results
The mood at the National Union election headquarters last night was one of mourning and defiance tinged with bitterness.

Yisrael Ba'aliya struggles for positive spin
Yisrael Ba'aliya leaders and activists were trying to put a positive spin on last nights exit poll results, which showed the party at best retaining the seven seats it won in the previous election, and perhaps even losing one.

Barak supporters celebrate in Rabin Square
Jubilant crowds descended last night on Tel Aviv's Kikar Rabin to celebrate the election of Israel's next prime minister, One Israel leader Ehud Barak, who is seen as likely to revive Yitzhak Rabins peacemaking efforts with the Palestinians.

Feeling Right at Kfar Habad
A smiling Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson looks down from nearly every billboard at Kfar Habad, where election fever yesterday seemed to be isolated to a small but rowdy convoy of vehicles plastered with posters favoring Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and blaring deafening music that threatened to reverberate till the fateful dawn.

Efrat for Netanyahu
A large white banner inscribed with a warning Just not Barak hung yesterday near the local Efrat community center, pretty much summing up the feeling of many residents of Judea and Samaria.

In Neveh Ya'acov, immigrants focus on security
Around the Neveh Yaacov commercial center yesterday morning, the much ballyhooed Russian vote looked like it was headed to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman. But even more noticeable was the fact that many new immigrants appeared eager to shed that label by turning their back on the Russian parties and instead voting for a larger one.

Beachgoers prefer sun to sloganeering
Frisbees bearing a Tnuva logo were the only propaganda being distributed on the Tel Aviv beach yesterday.

Barak phalanx flummoxes fans
First came the embrace of the party, next, the hug of the public and the press and yesterday, One Israel leader Ehud Barak finally found himself surrounded by the most telling sign of impending power of them all the General Security Service, in full force.

Modiin gets first taste of national elections
Modiin, the countrys City of the Future, participated in its first national elections yesterday. Residents started moving in right after the 1996 elections; now there are 23,000 people in town.

Shas activists expect a backlash success
Meir Abergel could have taken a vacation day yesterday, but Rabbi Ovadia Yosef wouldnt let him. Yosef, spiritual leader of the Shas party, ruled that all students in Shas-affiliated yeshivot must volunteer to help the party in the elections.

Arab parties call Barak the return of hope
A convoy of cars drove through the main street in Nazareth yesterday, decorated with Palestinian flags and orange-colored posters in Arabic supporting Azmi Bisharas Balad Party.

Netanyahu, Barak face the voters today
JERUSALEM (May 17) - Election Day opens this morning with only two candidates left in the running, and with the promise that by early tomorrow morning either One Israel leader Ehud Barak or Likud leader Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu will emerge victorious.

Likud man dies after row over posters
JERUSALEM (May 17) - The death yesterday of a Likud supporter following an altercation on Saturday night over election posters cast a pall over the last-minute electioneering.

Mordechai quits PM race, backs Barak t
TEL AVIV (May 17) - Center Party leader Yitzhak Mordechai announced yesterday - citing many hours of discussions with colleagues, family, and friends, together with considerable introspection - that he had decided to quit the premiership race.

Begin pulls out; won't endorse Netanyahu
ARIEL (May 17) - Stating that his candidacy had been a "public service," National Union leader Ze'ev (Benny) Begin withdrew from the premiership race yesterday, but refused to endorse Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu attacks 'leftist' Mordechai
JERUSALEM (May 17) - At the press conference he held in the Prime Minister's Office just after Center Party leader Yitzhak Mordechai announced he was quitting the premiership race yesterday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu tried to stress that Mordechai had joined the far left.

Thousands of citizens return to vote
LOD (May 17) - It was a busy day at Ben-Gurion Airport yesterday, as Israelis abroad streamed home to vote, most of them unaware of the political developments unfolding all day.

Sharansky neutral on PM race, raps Ovadia's slurs
JERUSALEM (May 17) - Insisting that neutrality is "a foundation of our party," Yisrael Ba'aliya leader Natan Sharansky vowed yesterday the party would remain neutral in the prime ministerial race. This would not change despite Center Party leader Yitzhak Mordechai's endorsement of One Israel's Ehud Barak and renewed insults from Shas, which supports Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

Shas hopes for gains in Abu Ghosh
ABU GHOSH (May 17) - At first glance the area just past the mosque and church in the center of Abu Ghosh seems an unlikely place to hear the battle cry of the Shas Party.

Defense slams witness in Abergil rape trial
TEL AVIV (May 17) - Defense lawyer Moshe Meroz told the Tel Aviv District Court yesterday that the first prosecution witness in the trial of Shlomo Gur, accused of raping Miss World Linor Abergil, was biased in favor of Abergil

Five minutes at the polls, and the rest of the day is freet
TEL AVIV (May 17) - While party leaders, pundits, and political junkies have been eagerly looking forward to the excitement of today's elections, much of the country has been getting excited for another reason completely - the prospect of enjoying a beautiful summer day devoted purely to enjoyment and relaxation.