Netanyahu set to be next Israeli PM, propped up by the extreme right

Benjamin Netanyahu is all but certain to become the next Israeli prime minister after receiving a majority of the votes in Tuesday’s elections.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 97 percent of the votes had been counted, giving Netanyahu’s bloc 65 of the 120 Knesset seats, enough to form a coalition.

Netanyahu will replace Prime Minister Yair Lapid who failed to gather enough support in his bloc to form a government.

The 73-year-old Likud leader’s government will consist of his own party, the two ultra-orthodox parties United Torah Judaism and Shas, as well as the far-right Religious Zionism party, which became the third largest in parliament with 15 seats.

The leader of Religious Zionism, the self-declared proud homophobe, Betzalel Smotrich, said the party “is making history”, while controversial Itamar Ben-Gvir vowed to “work for all of Israel, even those who hate me.”

Religious Zionism has campaigned on a number of issues such as expanding and annexing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, including the Jewish outposts currently considered illegal under Israeli and international law, legal reforms that would directly impact Netanyahu’s corruption trial, and immunity for Israeli soldiers and police officers.

Ben-Gvir, who is known for his racist comments aimed at Arab-Israelis and Palestinians, has demanded the public security minister portfolio, which would give him oversight and significant influence over the police force in Israel.

Netanyahu’s government structure is still unclear, but when asked about Ben-Gvir’s demand the day before elections, the Likud leader didn’t dismiss the option.

As for the ultra-Orthodox parties, their core interests will be make sure the draft status quo stays in place, which exempts religious men and women from joining the army, and making sure Yeshivas will continue to get financial support with little or no oversight over teaching core studies, such as math and English.

The progress Labor was trying to make on changing the rules for public transportation on Shabbat is also expected to come to a halt.

Lawmaker from the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism Yitzhak Pindrus, who will be part of Netanyahu’s government, took the opportunity to lash out at the outgoing government, saying “We’re civilised people, not animals like you.”

“In the government you stole… you trampled on us. You thought we were just rags. We’re human beings,” Pindrus said.

Netanyahu’s rival, Defence Minister Benny Gantz, vowed that his National Unity party would “accept the voters’ decisions” and serve as a responsible opposition party.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Lapid was yet to issue an official concession, but accordion to Israeli media, the prime minister was preparing for an “orderly transition” of power to Netanyahu.

Left-wing failure

The left-wing Meretz Party, headed by Zehava Gal-On, failed to cross the electoral threshold and will find itself outside the Knesset for the first time in its history.

The party had worked hard to convince the Labour party to run on a joint ticket, to prevent any of them receiving less votes than required to enter parliament. Labor leader Merav Michaeli, however, refused.

Meretz’s “Gevalt” campaign didn’t persuade voters to stay loyal to the party instead of voting for Lapid’s Yesh Atid party.

Labor, which received the minimum four seats a party can have in parliament, was attacked by Meretz lawmaker Esawi Frej following the election, accusing her of “delusions of grandeur” and comparing herself to the late Labour Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

A senior Labour official told Ynet News that that Michaeli was a “colossal failure, and disconnected from reality,” while expecting her to draw the “obvious conclusions.”

Following the disappointing election results both Meretz and Labour canceled their planned speeches to their voters and volunteers.

Meanwhile, the Arab-Israeli Balad party also failed to cross the 3,25% electoral threshold.

Arab-Israeli parties Hadash and Ta’al received five seats, with a senior source party telling Jewish News that the development was troubling, but that it would continue to fight racism and fascism coming on the far-right.