After a tightly-fought election, incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party have secured a decisive victory courtesy of a strong showing for the right-wing parties, making him the longest-serving Prime Minister since the creation of the Jewish state.
With all votes now counted and the final results in, Likud won 36 seats, and looks well-placed to form a right-wing coalition that will control 65 of the Knesset’s 120 seats. Main challenger Benny Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party won 35 seats.
Gantz has vowed to battle Netanyahu from the opposition. It is the first time in several decades that two parties have so dominated an Israeli parliament, and meant that fewer parties crossed the 3.25% electoral threshold.
The New Right party, led by former Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett and former Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, failed to reach the mark as it fell just short of winning Knesset seats.
Negotiations to form a coalition will begin next week when the President of Israel Reuven Rivlin is expected to nominate Netanyahu to put together his government.
The most likely scenario is that Netanyahu will form a narrow right-wing coalition comprising of Kulanu, United Right, Yisrael Beitenu, Shas and United Torah Judaism.
Already, the far-right Right Wing Union has demanded the education and justice ministerial posts, and it is expected that Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Liberman will demand the post of Defence Minister; Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon is thought to be seeking a return to the Finance Ministry, which he resigned from only a few months ago.
The results are seen as a major win for Benjamin Netanyahu, who managed to increase Likud’s share of Knesset seats despite the shadow of corruption charges, and will now overtake founding Prime Minister of Israel David Ben-Gurion to become the Jewish state’s longest serving leader. This will be his fifth term in office.
