Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated his new Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu on his electoral victory on Thursday.

“Mazel Tov my friend Netanyahu for your electoral success,” Modi wrote on Twitter. “I look forward to continuing our joint efforts to deepen the India-Israel strategic partnership.”

Voting for the election in Israel was held on Tuesday. This was the fifth election in the country in less than four years, according to the Associated Press.

Thursday’s election results showed that Netanyahu and his allies won 64 seats in the 120-seat parliament, with 32 of those seats going to Netanyahu’s party, Likud, reported Al Jazeera.

Netanyahu, who was prime minister for 12 consecutive years, was ousted from his position after a coalition of eight parties came together in 2021. Right-wing leader Naftali Bennett and Centrist Yair Lapid were chosen as prime ministers on a rotational basis.

Modi also thanked Yair Lapid for giving priority to the India-Israel strategic partnership. “I hope to continue our fruitful exchange of ideas for the mutual benefit of our peoples,” he tweeted.

Thursday’s results have once again shown rise of right-wing politics in Israel.

The re-election of Netanyahu has also got Palestinians concerned.

“No doubt the result of such a coalition will increase the hostile attitude towards the Palestinian people and make occupation measures more extreme,” a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization Bassam Salhe told Reuters.