以色列前财政部长内塔尼亚胡19日在利库德集团主席选举中战胜主要竞争对手、现任外交部长沙洛姆，当选该党主席。

    内塔尼亚胡在胜选后表示，利库德集团如今又回到引领国家的道路上来，他将与沙洛姆合作，共同领导利库德集团。

    沙洛姆承认败选，并通过电话向内塔尼亚胡表示祝贺。他表示将在近期与内塔尼亚胡会面，商讨利库德集团的政策走向。

    利库德集团近13万名党员中仅有约40%的人参加了当天的投票。以色列电视台进行的调查显示，内塔尼亚胡的得票率为47%，沙洛姆的得票率为32%。

    Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was elected as Likud Party's new leader on Monday.

    Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, Netanyahu's top rival in leadership contest, conceded defeat and called Netanyahu to congratulate him on primaries victory, according to Channel 10 television.

    Shalom's aide said that Netanyahu and Shalom agreed to join forces to confront prime minister Ariel Sharon, who quit the right-wing Likud and formed centrist Kadima party last month, in the coming general elections on March 28.

    Netanyahu is projected to get 47 percent of the votes in the Likud primaries, according to the Channel 1 TV poll released shortly after polling stations closed on Monday evening.

    Shalom came in second place with 32 percent of the vote, parliament member Moshe Feiglin won 15 percent of the vote, while Agriculture Minister Yisrael Katz trailed in fourth place with six percent of the vote.

    Voter turnout was particularly low, with less than 40 percentof 128,000 party members casting their ballots.