JERUSALEM, April 10 (Xinhua) -- As some leaders around the world on Wednesday congratulated Israel's right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his likely re-election after tight-raced parliamentary elections, Syria and Palestine showed indifference towards the outcomes.
"The results (of Israeli elections) haven't been finalized yet but I don't think that the elections would have any impact on the regional issues if the party that is running against Netanyahu doesn't oppose him in politics," Hmaidi Abdullah, a political expert said.
"So even if someone other than Netanyahu won the elections, there would be no difference in dealing with the regional issues as both candidates have the same stance toward the Golan Heights," Abdullah added.
The remarks came after 97 percent of the votes were counted for Israeli elections, which indicated that the long-serving prime minister was in tie with his main rival, Benny Gantz.
However, the right-wing parties in the parliament secured an overwhelming majority bloc, meaning that Netanyahu was highly likely to form Israel's next governing coalition.
Hussam Shuaib, another political expert, said that "the change in names of the Israeli governments has not changed the essence of dealing with the regional issues particularly in Syria."
"But I can say that U.S. President Donald Trump has exerted big efforts to promote Netanyahu as the upcoming prime minister," the expert added.
Shuaib said that the attempt to gain more voices for Netanyahu was felt when Trump moved the embassy to Jerusalem, which was followed by the U.S. recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Syrian Golan Heights.
"I think that the latest move pleased Israel but in reality, the U.S. cannot hold the burden of such a decision," Shuaib noted.
Palestinian officials said that they do not count on the results of Israel's parliamentary elections and are not betting on their results.
"The Palestinian side does not count on the parliamentary elections in Israel," Ahmed Majdalani, member of Executive Committee of Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), told Xinhua.
Nabil Shaath, adviser to the Palestinian president for foreign affairs and international relations, told Xinhua that the Israeli elections "are different from any previous elections because of the dominance of the far-right parties of the scene."
He said that the election campaign in Israel "is only to support the settlements and prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state so we do not expect much of the results of these elections."
Trump, who has close ties with Netanyahu, praised Netanyahu's "apparent victory," saying that the White House's plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians has "a better chance now that Bibi (Netanyahu) has won."
"I'd like to congratulate Netanyahu. It looks like that race has been won by him. It may be a little early but I'm hearing that he's won it and won it in good fashion," Trump told reporters in Washington.
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Italy's far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini also congratulated Netanyahu.
"Congratulations to Prime Minister Netanyahu for an excellent showing in yesterday's national elections," the pro-Israel leader Kurz wrote on Twitter on Wednesday.
"While the official results have yet to be published, one matter is clear: you have, once again, gained the trust of the people of Israel in record numbers," Kurz added.
Meanwhile, local Israeli press reported that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani criticized the Israeli elections during an Iranian government's meeting.
"It is the occupied Palestinians who should have voted, not the Israeli occupiers," he said, adding that the identity of the next Israeli prime minister was "meaningless."
Islamic Hamas movement said that the election's outcomes were "irrelevant." Khalil al-Hayya, senior Hamas official, said that "all the parties are the faces of one coin. The coin of occupation."
He added that there was "no difference" between the Israeli parties, and vowed that Hamas would continue seeking to "end the occupation and achieve our national goals," Times of Israel reported.
With the final results expected by April 17, Netanyahu, if re-elected, is expected to start his fifth term as prime minister and become the longest-serving prime minister in Israel's history.
