Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night addressed a large crowd of supporters of his Likud party, as exit polls showed that his party won 27 to 28 seats in Knesset elections and he would once again head a coalition.

“Thank you very much my friends, the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said to the sounds of loud cheering.

“Against all odds, we have achieved a great victory for the Likud. We have achieved a great victory for the Likud-led nationalist camp and our people,” he continued.

“I am proud of the people of Israel who, at the moment of truth, knew how to separate between the important and the secondary issues and focus on the important ones,” said Netanyahu, who mentioned issues such as “real security, a responsible economy, as well as social welfare. These are the things that are important to each family. Every father and mother, every young couple , every soldier, every citizen. And all Israeli citizens, Jews and non-Jews alike. All of you are important, and all of you are important to me.”

“And now we must form a strong and stable government that will look after the safety and welfare of all citizens of Israel. There are tremendous challenges ahead of us. I cannot list them all but I can tell you that we are facing political, security, economic and social challenges,” he continued.

“I spoke this evening with all the party leaders and called on them to join a broad government with a responsible leadership,” said Netanyahu, who added, “We must build a strong and stable government that will take care of the safety and welfare of all the citizens of Israel. There are very big challenges ahead of us.”