waiting for a winner. israeli prime minter benjamin netanyahu claims victory. but rical isaac herzog has yet to concede. >> and an unprecedented show of strength by israeli-palestinian parties. their joint list is set to emerge third. ♪ ♪ live from our headquarters no doha. also ahead in this half hour. i australia drone crashes in syria. the assad government claims responsibility. and another appeal for international aid as the

recovery process begins in vanuatu. ♪ ♪ israeli prime minute step berwyn netanyahu has an edge in early counting after one of the closest elections in the country's history. he's already declared victory but center left rival isaac herzog says he's working to put together a coalition. mike hannah reports now from tel aviv. >> reporter: it was a night in which all could claim victory. two exit polls had the zionist union with 27 seats. the third gave them a one seat edge. a powerful display too by the newly-formed joint list of israeli-palestinian parties. exit polls giving the movement their seen seats as potentially the third most powerful force in the parliament. but the reality is, the exit polls indicate it will be easier for benjamin netanyahu to form a

right wing coalition than for the sigh inningist union's isaac herzog for form a centralist one. number crunching shows they could poe fen shaly form a coalition with a settle of movements and the ultra orthodox religious parties, that would give them 64 seats. three more than the 61 needed to get a majority. potentially it could also call on the mayor which has 12 projected seats creating a powerful government with more than 70 seats in parliament. >> translator: the citizens of israel expect us to quickly form a responsible leadership which will work for them. and so we shall do. >> reporter: the only chance the zionist union would have of forming a coalition is if the joint list reversed its decision not to be part of any government. insisting it would remain in opposition. technically, isaac herzog could form a cenrist coalition

including thize really-palestinian parties. the traditionally left movement and possibly one of the ultra orthodox religious parties like united torah judaism. but so much a coalition would just top the 61 majority needed and be vulnerable to the defects of any member. if isaac herzog insists he will keep all of his options open at this stage. >> translator: the results will allow us to take the leadership. we will wait for the final results. for now, the results are on the exit polls, it is not a done deal. >> reporter: the celebrations at the headquarters were spiced with more than a him of relief. those of the zionist union were with an air of what might have been. when official results are announced in coming hours all attention will switch to one man, it will be up to the country's president to decide who he will first ask to form a coalition government. and indications are at this stage he may have to swallow his

well publicized dislike for the current inning company incumbents and call on benjamin netanyahu to form a coalition government for a fourth term in offense. mike hannah, al jazerra, tel aviv. well, as mike mentioned the joint list of israeli-palestinian parties will be the third largest political force. physicianphysician reason looks at the immaterial play raises of that you think precedented development. >> reporter: in a country where palestinians only make up a fifth of israel's population and say they are discrit named against, the joint list is now the third largest party in israel. it's an alliance of the arab political party that his ran under one ticket and says it wants to change the rulings of the game in. it's believed in isaac herzog is chosen to form a coalition government he would have to approach the joints list to participate. >> herzog will call is, we will sit altogether before parties

joining the joint list discuss it in a democratic way and decide to govern what is the best for our community for our society and for changing the reality and combating rateism. >> reporter: the party says it will prevent israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu from forming another right wing government. but that does not necessarily mean it will recommend herzog. the alliance is made up of communists being national assists and even those who call themselves islamists. and divisions from within are inevitable. >> the position of the joint list is also not to recommend herzog. hence we don't see real differences relating to the right of the palestinians and the rights of. [ inaudible ] and the full equalities issue the full equalities that we the palestinian citizens and the jewish citizens and regarding the main issues withdrawing from

the occupied territories. >> reporter: the party says palestinian majority turn out in this election is the highest since 1999, its top goal to block right wing government policies that it describes as discriminatory against palestinian-israelis and the number of seats it wants, now puts it in a better position to do so. what is for certain is that there are major ideological differences among the members of the joints list. they all acknowledge these differences could possibly affect the party's ability to make decisions about its future role. for now palestinians hope the joint list will not disappointmentdisappointthem and most are satisfied with what they describe it as an unprecedenced achievement. the palestine lick riggs organization says the results. israeli election won't make a difference to them. chief palestinian negotiator

says the p.l.o. wilin tense identify their campaign for statehood his comments follow netanyahu's declaration that he wouldn't allow the creation of a palestinian state if he is voted ba income to power. >> mr. netanyahu's policies as he said it yesterday openly, voice and sound no palestinian state. continuation of settlements. and i believe now it's up to the international community to stop treating this prime minister as a prime minister that is above the laws of man and he shoulding held accountable. -- he should be held accountable and he should -- the international community should not cover him or give him impunity. impunity will mean more conflict more complicities, and with will mott make peas. >> hamas has also reacted to the israeli election issue a statement that reads:

>> diane is a former spokesperson for the palestine liberation organization and spoke to al jazerra about what the results will mean for palestinians. >> i think when it comes to palestinians, it doesn't really make a difference. herzog is somebody who has come out and said that he continues to believe in settlement construction and expansion he hasn't said anything against the blockade on gaza. he continues to believe in supporting the occupation. so whether it's a netanyahu-led government or herzog-led government or a combination of the two. for palestinians it's the exact same reality as they faced just before this election. they have supported the ongoing construction and expansion of illegal israeli settlements and continue to support the israeli military occupation, it's just that one is packaged better than the other but there are still two sides of the exact same coin they both will lead in the

denial of freedom and he quality for pal tip generals if the zionist union and the los angeles cued party combine then it will mean the joint list will be the leader of the opposition and theyville with a great deal of power to dry to block legislation, but at the same time, they are not magicians this is a country that is premised on the idea of race immaterial, that believes in the superiority of jewish citizens of the inning taj does palestinian population and so they may be able to push back against some of the racist legislation, but they are not going to be able to work miracles. the syrian government says it has shot down a u.s. drone. state tv claims the aircraft was downed it has broadcast images of what it says is the wreckage, including a wheel and electric parts. a u.s. official says a drone is crash in syria but it wasn't clear if it had been shot down.

amnesty international says air strike carried out by the assad government in rah ca last november may amount to war crimes and opposition groups are again accusing government forces are using chlorine gas killing women and children, kim vinnell reports. >> reporter: a man apparently suffering the effects of chlorine gas is doused in water. this was after an attack in the idlib province, that's according to human rights groups who monitor attacks like these. in hospital survivors are given oxygen chlorine gaza tacks the respiratory system causing suffocation. >> translator: we are here to receive the wounded. we have received around 70 of them until now. including women and children. and we expect more to think do. they have suffered the symptoms of chlorine inhaling. some of them need more medical care. >> reporter: the syrian observatory for human rights says at least six people, including women and children, were killed in this bombardment.

opposition okay activists say it was the second attack of its type in just two days. babies like this one they say are among the victims. right now the world is being urged to turn its attention here to northeast syria. in november last year, president bashar al-assad's forces attacked the city and nba a bid to drive out isil fighters. but in a new report amnesty international says the rules of war were violated. >> we are come to the conclusion that there is damning evidence that the syrian forces committed war crimes, over 100 civilians were killed, the places targeted were not islamic state bases as all, but busy marks busy mosques and residential areas. >> reporter: amnesty says while attention was divert today the u.s.-led air strikes elsewhere assad's forces killed civilians

relentlessly. at least 60 people were killed in the shelling in one day alone alone. doctors say they know the world is following watching and condemning these crimes. but it's action they say that's needed to stop the bloodshed. kim vinnell, al jazerra. the iranian president has expressed optimism for reaching ideal with western powers over its nuclear program. hassan rouhani was speaking during a ceremony of the south gas field which iran shares. meanwhile top u.s. and iranian dipdiplomats have been returning to switzerland for talks. they are hoping to resolve the differences blocking an agreement before the end of the month. still ahead on al jazerra indonesia end the search for victims of last year's air asia plane crash, 56 people are still unaccounted for. plus. >> reporter: i am in kenya. today we take a look at a very

beautiful place but find out why some of the locals aren't happy.

>> the new al jazeera america primetime. get the real news you've been looking for. at 7:00, a thorough wrapup of the day's events. then at 8:00, john seigenthaler digs deeper into the stories of the day. and at 9:00, get a global perspective on the news. weeknights, on al jazeera america . ♪ ♪ welcome back. a reminders now of the top stories on al jazerra an israeli prime minute officer benjamin net me's likud party has a slight edge in early counting after one of the closest elections in the country's history. he's already declared victory but center left rival isaac herzog says he's work to go put together a coalition. and the joint list of israeli palestinian parties is poised to be the third largest political

force. it's an alliance of four parties that ran under one ticket. they managed to get 13 seats. the syrian government says it's downed a u.s. drone. the u.s. says the a drone did crash in syria but it wasn't clear if it had been shot down. more now on tower top story. the white house is now weighing in on the israeli elects. officials say president barack obama is confident that strong u.s.-israeli ties will endure regardless of the victor. now obama's a relationship with prime minister benjamin netanyahu has been increase increasingly tense. >> reporter: the obamaed administration will wait until all the votes have been counted before it congratulates either ice i go herzog or benjamin netanyahu for winning the election on his march 17th. of course the administration is then going to be faced with some key questions. how to deal with the government in israel, depending on which

man wins, there hasn't been a close percentage relationship as it were between netanyahu and president obama for years now. and there is some question about what kind of leader isaac herzog really could turn on the to be. there is also the question of the future of the mideast peace talks. tony blair is stepping aside from his role as special envoy with the core at the time which was supposed to help move the process along. and the last round of u.s. brokered peace talks fell apart just about a year ago. then there is also the question about the palestinians, and their own political frustrations, they have been making moves to try to get international recognition through various u.n.-related bodies, it's something that the united states doesn't like. certainly the u.s. feels that if there were an ongoing and consistent peace process, they wouldn't have to deal with these efforts to essentially go it alone on the palestinian side. much is resting on the decision of the formation of a new

israeli government in the coming days. indonesia vinnie rescue teams are calling off the search for victims of the air asia plane crash in the java sea. the plane was on its way from the indonesian city to singapore in december. all 162 people on board were killed. step vaessen has more now from jakarta. >> reporter: more than two and a half months after the crashing being the rescue agency in consultant is a with the families of victim have his decided they call off the search for the air asia victims. one on six people have been found and 56 have been unaccounted for so far. the rescue effort was actually officially called off earlier this month but the families insisted to continue for another week and the rescue agency actually managed to find three more bodies, one woman a child and another one whose joined gender has not been identified. it's been a painful decision for the families to accept the fact

that it's now over and done. more than two and a half months they have to come to terms with the fact that the government and the rescue agency has done all it could to recover as many victims as possible of the crash. and to give them some kind of closure, this coming weekend the relatives together with the government officials will go to the crash site and hold a ceremony in remembrance of their loved ones. two dutch peacekeepers have died in northern mallee after a u.n. helicopter crashed the dutch defense chief says initial investigations point to his an accidents think the crashing occurred during a military exercise near the town. the red cross has launched a nearly $4 million emergency appeal for vanuatu. the island nation was devastated by tropical cyclone pam over the weekend. u.n. says at least 11 people have been killed and more than 3,000 others have lost their homes. some aid has arrived in the capital of fort villa and more

is on the way but the damage is worse in the more remote island and people there are running out of food and basic surprise. andrew thomas was one of the first foreign correspondence to reach the southern island. >> reporter: the vast majority of buildings that i have seen during my time on tana have all been but destroyed. many pretty much flattened. thankfully people got out of those buildings in time it seems seems. very few were killed but there is concern if aid doesn't start coming. that they will have other things to deal w lack of water food, shelter given so many houses have been destroyed is a real priority. this is a picture repeated rice across the islands of vanuatu the charity uncief say 70,000 children reports going to school at the moment because their schools have been destroyed. we saw one like that just up the road. 60,000 children are in desperate need of healthcare, low

immunization rate in vanuatu they are concerned that children will get sick if they don't get the right facilities. aid flights are starting to arrive on some of the outlying island but this, while a relatively remote one, will be one of the first to get an aid flight n other islands too suffering. a joint industrial zone is at the center of the latest dispute between south and north korea. around 20 thought korean bids men who manage factories in the industry complex have traveled to the area in an attempt to settle a pace dispute, they are protesting pyongyang's raising wages for facts are you workers rob mcbride has the details from seoul. >> reporter: the industrial complex offense find itself on the wrong sides of the troubled relationship between north and south korea. and back in 2013, for example it was closed for a number of months when relations reached pretty much an all-time low. since then works has presumed. it's very important to north

korea employing some 50,000 workers, but at the end of last month, pyongyang announced that it was raising the minimum wage for the workers there from around $70 to $74 a month. now, that is one and a half times what a north korean worker can expect in north korea. but it is very low accord to this north koreans. for example, it says its workers can expect to be paid 300 u.s. dollars in china. from south korea's point of view, it's not so much the amount of wage rise which is at issue, it is, after all only 5%, but the fact that it was announced unilaterally by north korea, the complex as you can imagine takes a lot of tactful administration between north and south to make it work, from southsouth korea's point of view this unilateral wage raise chud sh*ud have been agreed on by oath parties is is not very tactful and would make other companies

not to want to invest there. journalists in myanmar are concernedded that their profession is under attack. the past month government forces have been criticized for breaking up protests with excessive force, and reporters say they have been primary targets. florence looi reports now. >> reporter: he says he's afraid to go home. he was following up on a lead for a story when he was attacked. the reporter had invite aid man to talk about his role in a paramilitary organization. the man along with two friends mets him. and persuaded had tomorrow follow them to a house. >> translator: they hit me. then they rummaged through my bag and took my mobile phone and voice recorder. they said to me, you reporters are troublemakers. >> reporter: the three men admitted to being part of the paramilitary force used to bite local government to break up a protest in early march. the law allows official to his recruit civilian to his curb unlawful gathering. it's a tactic use ed by the former military government. there has been other incidents

that led journalists here to believe that they are being targeted in a campaign of intimidation, earlier this month two reporters were detained for several hours by police and had their cameras taken while covering a worker strike just outside. he was covering a protest on the 10th of march. he says he saw and experienced how police turned on the media. >> translator: i heard a police officer give instruction while pointing at two reporters, being beaten up. he said, arrest them too. when i heard that account i knew things were getting bad. >> reporter: two reporters were arrested during the crack down and detained for three days, the police chief in the area said it's not true that the police targeted journalists. he told al jazerra that it was difficult to tell reporters from demonstrators once police tried to disburse the protests. but the recent events have raised concerns. >> translator: nowadays we don't have censorship, but we face lawsuits and legal issues, and sometimes the government uses

terrorist ways and strategy to his intimidate the media. >> reporter: when myanmar started its transition from military rule some four years ago, the semi is veil vinnie government promised greater press freedom. now many are wondering if some of that freed sum slowly balky roded. florence looi. al jazerra yanggong. he just a minute is accusing a policeman of deliberately killing an activist in january. shot while participating in a rally marking the fourth anniversary of egypt's 2011 revolution, at the time, the interior ministry had suggested the police were not responsible. since then, footage has emerged of the moment of the shooting and in it a security officer is seen pointing a rival at her. 16 people are facing charges in egypt over the deaths of football fans at a cairo stadium in february. a stampede began when tear gas was fired for the crowd, 20

people were killed in the violence. the prosecutor is accusing the muslim brotherhood of paying the so-called ultra fan groups to spark chaos. an egyptian authoritieses will no longer issue on arrival vitaes to tourists travel on the ground their own. according to state media only those traveling with tour operators will be able to get a visa upon arrival. the tourism industry has been struggling to recover after the 2011 revolution. new measure will come in to effect on may 15th. tunisia is set to reopen its air space to flights from western libya. planes will start taking off on friday. tunisia i can't had initially stopped all flights two and from libya for security reasons think the reopening of the air space follows the reestablish. tunisia's consolate in trip tripoli. kenya's national reserve is

visited by thousands of tourists every year. but locals living near and around the reserve are saying that they are not benefiting from the profit. protests demanding greater action it is to the millions of dollars generated by the reserve have recently turned try violent. >> reporter: african savannah elephants. this herd seems very relaxed in the national game reserve. park officials say thousands of people visit every year to see some of the animals up close and the beautiful landscape. kenya earns millions of dollars every year from foreign and local tourists. but 29-year-old died fighting for a share of that money. he was alleged lid shot by security officers during a protest. his family is still in shock. they are part i've community the who feel a few in the county government are benefiting. >> translator: it was just a peaceful demonstration.

suddenly bullets were fired. then came death. >> reporter: the elders try to manage the animosity locals have with some politicians here. >> translator: people are complaining about mismanagement of resources it's corruption. there are something wrong when someone is suspected of stealing public funds. >> reporter: county government officials deny allegations of corruption. they say communities are getting a fair share of the revenue. >> we give 50% to six wards around. and if you divide that 50% among each wards each ward gets over 20 million per year. that is to assist the people. >> reporter: 20 million kenya shillings is roughly $200,000. those who say that money isn't reaching them try to entice tourist to his their villages outside the game reserve. visitors get to see how people

live and learn a little bit of about their culture these women are selling sufficient souvenirs, you can buy this typical clot and this beautiful necklace and these women spends many hours making them. what they say is knowing what some polling tinges tinges and well connected politician tkpwretz the game reserve until a solution is found a frustrated community waits hoping they too will one day benefit from the animals they have lived side by side with for generations. al jazerra. over 20,000 people have been affected by heavy flooding in the northern brazilian state. a state of emergency was declared after a major river overflowed its banks officials say surprise, including food, water and mad restlesses have been distribute today the sheet of 31,000. new evidence suggests the largest glacier in eastern antarctic could be melting faster than expected.

it's 120-kilometers one and more than 30-kilometers wide. according to new research. warm ocean water is penetrating the base of the glare glare year, predicting that this will lead to rising sea levels. you can get more from our website that's at aljazerra.com.