- Israelis elected right-wing candidate Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister by a razor-thin margin over incumbent Shimon Peres, an architect of peace agreements with the Palestinians. The unofficial final vote gave Netanyahu 50.4 percent to Peres' 49.5 percent. Below you will find the background information on the situation in Israel before the elections, as well as the top Story on this pivotal ...www.cnn.com/WORLD/pivotal.elections/1996/israel/index.html