Special report: Israel's general elections

    KHARTOUM, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday called on Israel to go back to negotiating table after Israel's Kadima party won the Tuesday general elections.

    Abbas made the call here while answering a question from Xinhua as the 18th Arab summit entered its second day session in the Sudanese capital on Wednesday morning.

    "We hoped he (Olmert) would choose peace policy and return to negotiating table," Abbas told Xinhua.

    Israeli electoral authorities said early Wednesday, one day after the Israeli general election, that the centrist Kadima party headed by Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has won the general elections.

    With 99.7 percent of ballots counted, official results showed that Kadima had won 28 seats in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament), followed by the Labor Party with 20 seats and Shas party with 13 seats, said the Central Election Commission.

    Meanwhile, Abbas also talked about Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas)-led cabinet's victory in getting approval of the Palestinian Legislative Council (parliament).

    When asked about his opinion on it, Abbas said that "it's expected that Hamas won the voting because they have majority in the Palestinian Legislative Council."

    An overwhelming majority among PLC members that convened in both Gaza and Ramallah gave their confidence on Tuesday to the new Hamas-led cabinet formed by Prime Minister-designate Ismail Haneya. Enditem