For Palestinians, the familiar face of arch-enemy Ariel Sharon is set to be a regular feature on their TV screens again.

With war looming in the Middle East again, Jewish communities across the world followed the election anxiously.

The grins on the faces of Ariel Sharon and his hardline Likud allies said it all.

No less happy was Tommy Lapid of the secular party Shinui after it more than doubled its seats in the Knesset.

Shinhui appears to have edged out the ultra-Orthodox Shas party as Israel's parliamentary king-maker.

For Amram Mitzna of the opposition Labour Party it was no longer possible to shrug off poor ratings in the opinion polls.

Labour's hard-fought campaign on a peace platform had failed and the defeat was bitter for many.