I have been following the Israeli election and see that the process differs greatly from the US process. There are many parties and each has a list. All parties getting over the threshold needed (I think 3.5%) get a proportional number of seats in the Knesset. These seats are given to the n highest people on their list of candidates.
The President (Rivlin) will get to ask the leader of some party to try to form a government including at least 61 (of the 120) members of Knesset. The problem in recent years is that the center/right parties have an easier time getting to that number -- and two elections ago when Kadima got more of the vote than Likhud, Likhud was asked to form the government as it was more obvious how they could get there.
I hope that Netanyahu's stunt backfires - which could happen if Obama is able to get the platform he needs to get support for an Iranian agreement. (If you look at the polling, when Obama first publicly started the effort, it was overwhelmingly popular. The popularity has decreased as it has been demonized by the neo cons and Netanyahu.)
One thing that is obvious is that Netanyahu is a meglomaniac, who is willing to lie to get the ends he wants. (One incredibly despicable time was when he wanted more time before a ceasefire in Gaza was set, that he put out the Hamas offer - conveyed to him by Kerry, who was working with the French and others and who got that position via Qatar - as the Obama/Kerry plan! This was quickly corrected by the US, but some on the far right - here and in Israel - still use that as proof that Obama is against Israel. )
One thing surprising in the Israeli media is that it is completely accepted that Netanyahu is mean spirited, dishonest and a miserly person (both in using his own money and emotionally.) While he is not liked, he is STILL seen by more people than anyone else as the man best suited to be PM. This would be like the US electing Cheney, rather than the "nicer" face of GWB.
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