The former Israeli prime minister is all set for a comeback, as partial results showed a potential return with the help of the far right.
As 85% of the votes in the general election have already been counted, Netanyahu’s bloc is expected to win about 65 seats out of a total of 120.
Addressing his supporters, he said that he was close to a “big victory.” However, his victory will depend on the far-right Zionite party’s support.
The party is well known for its “anti-Arab” rhetoric and is one of the biggest advocates of deporting disloyal Arabs who are not supporting the Israelites. Its leaders are Itmar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Ben-Gvir is known for being a racist and was one of the avid followers of the ultra-nationalist Meir Khane organisation, which was banned in the country and is marked as a terrorist organisation by countries including the United States. He himself has been convicted of incitement to racism and supporting a terrorist organisation.
Speaking at a public event on Wednesday, he said that he would work for the people, even those who hate him. He was accompanied by his wife, Sara, when he appeared at the Lukid Party’s election night.
As he addressed his supporters, he said that he had won the people’s confidence.
The exit polls predicted that he would get around 61–62 votes in the Israeli Parliament, and the election night was a celebration as people were jumping up and down, waving flags, and chanting his nickname, Bibi. A supporter was seen blowing a Shofar, a traditional Jewish instrument used during a special occasion.
The current Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, said to his supporters in Tel Aviv that nothing had been decided yet. He is from the centre-left Yesh Atid party and said to wait for the final results.
Netanyahu, 73, is one of the country’s controversial characters, who is hated by many of the supporters of the centre-left but is the favourite of the Likud party’s supporters.
He is one of the supporters of Israel’s illegal occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which the country has occupied since the Middle East war in 1967. Moreover, he opposes the creation of the state of Palestine in these areas as a potential solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict; the formula has a number of supporters from the international community, including the US President Joe Biden’s administration.
Benjamin Netanyahu is currently in the middle of a trial for alleged bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. He has denied all these accusations. His party says that they will reform the laws when he comes to power, which would benefit him. According to the early results, the party is seen as the strongest, with 31 seats and immense support from the nationalist and religious parties.
The religious Zionist party is the third-largest party with 14 seats.
According to political scientist Gayil Talshir, the country is on track to become the next “Orban’s Hungary,” which was recently “rebranded” to be an “electoral autocracy.”
If Netanyahu could win, it would be an incredible moment for him as his political future was likely over when the current Prime Minister Lapid formed a coalition of parties with a similar objective to be in power, vowing that he will create an opportunity for Netanyahu to come to power back in 2021.
He responded to this by saying that to bring it down as quickly as possible, the new government couldn’t last more than a year as many of its MPs resigned.
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