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Many had hoped for a different outcome, including President Obama, but in the end Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won a decisive election victory on Tuesday.

Many had predicted that Netanyahu would lose and give the United States and President Obama a chance to re-shape the poisonous relationship between the two longtime allies.

Netanyahu, posting on Facebook as the votes were being tabulated, stated, “Against all odds: A great victory for the Likud.  A major victory for the Israeli people.”

Politico reported that with more than 99 percent of the votes counted, Netanyahu’s Likud party had earned 30 seats in Israel’s Knesset to 24 seats for the center-left Zionist Union party led by his chief rival, Isaac Herzog. Netanyahu still needs to assemble a governing coalition to extend his rule, but that should be of little challenge, given his surprising margin after polls showing a potential Likud defeat.

Many outside observers were stunned that Netanyahu pulled out a victory from the jaws of defeat, as the Zionist Union Party was using this election as a referendum on the way the Likud party has run the economy.  Many ordinary Israeli’s are consistently facing high residential home prices and a challenging economy, and many thought this would be enough to defeat Netanayahu.

The main factor in Netanyahu’s re-election was his strong foreign policy and security of Israeli.  Foreign policy is one area where the partisan divide is universally in support of the way Netanyahu handled the Hamas conflict last summer. Close to 90% backed the pummeling that Netanyahu inflicted on Hamas during the course of the conflict.

The biggest reason Netanyahu was able to defeat his opponent was his strong stance on security issues, especially as it related to the ongoing nuclear negotiations with Iran.

All Israelis seem to share this view, even when Eli Lake & Josh Rogin, writing in Bloomberg View, reported that even though the main opposition — the left-center Zionist Union coalition — has pledged to improve relations with the U.S., its leaders share Netanyahu’s reservations about the emerging Iran nuclear deal. Labor Party chief, Isaac Herzog, made his views on any Iran deal crystal-clear last week during a debate when asked how his views differed from Netanyahu’s: “There are no differences about the strategic threat.”

The Israeli people remember all too well the results of the peace process in the 90’s which resulted in the  Al-Aqsa intifada of 2000–2003; the 2005 Gaza withdrawal, which brought Hamas to greater prominence; and many feel any withdrawal from the West Bank would be catastrophic for the Jewish State.

The Labor Party’s national security policies are reminiscent of the Israeli right wing, far different than they were in the 1990’s, and the Obama administration will not be able to treat Labor as they have routinely treated Netanyahu.

The big issue during the election is the utter distain almost all Israelis have for the president.  “While the United States is loved and beloved in Israel, President Obama is not,” said Robert M. Danin, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Netanyahu has won re-election, and now is beginning negotiations in forming a coalition government, with discussions with the far-right pro-settler Jewish Home party led by Naftali Bennett, the centrist Kulanu party, as well as ultra-Orthodox groups.

This election will bring challenges for both Netanyahu and President Obama, especially as it concerns the nuclear negotiations with Iran, which the prime minister is totally against. The other is the two-state solution with the Palestinians which Netanyahu already has stated he would not support while he is in office.

Both Obama and Netanyahu have utter contempt for each other, but they are going to have to find a way to work together. This could be more difficult if any nuclear deal with Iran goes against the security interest of Israel.

The president’s hand was weakened with this election, and President Obama clearly wanted a different outcome. Now the president and Prime Minister Netanyahu are going to have to deal with each other whether they like it or not.