From high hopes to 'disaster' for Israel's far-right star

[oberliner]

RAMAT GAN, Israel (Reuters) -- Young religious Israelis danced under showers of confetti after exit polls showed the far-right Jewish Home party winning more seats in parliament, but their leader, high-tech millionaire Naftali Bennett, had little to smile about.

"This is a disaster," one party activist told another as they gathered on the sidelines of the celebrations to reflect on a disappointing outcome to an election campaign in which the charismatic Bennet and his calls to annex West Bank land had generated worldwide headlines and hopes of greater power.

The star in the end turned out to be the centrist Yair Lapid, whose new Yesh Atid party finished a surprise second.

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