Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced his victory in the domestic election of the leader of his Likud party, AP reported.

"A giant victory," Netanyahu tweeted, just over an hour after polls closed. "Thanks to the members of Likud for the trust, support and love," he said. "God willing, I will lead Likud to a big victory in the coming elections."

Netanyahu’s main rival was ex-Home Secretary Gideon Saar. The official results at the headquarters promise to be brought in by Friday morning.

The primaries to the post of Likud chair became a forced measure for Netanyahu, since voices rang out within the party elite demanding a change in party leadership, which had failed to form a government twice after the election. At the same time, Netanyahu’s supporters are not confused by the fact that for the first time in Israeli history, charges of corruption and violation of public trust have been brought against the incumbent prime minister.

Earlier after the failure of two consecutive snap elections in the Knesset (in April and September), when no political forces were able to form a majority coalition government, the Knesset voted for self-dissolution. The next election is scheduled for March 2, 2020.

The Israeli government has been in transition for almost a year. Authorities operate in a regime of limited authority. Parliament cannot adopt a budget. Despite optimistic statements by politicians, the positions of the parties have not fundamentally changed, which means there are no obvious reasons to hope that the elections scheduled for March in a row will lead the country out of the political impasse.