Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin (Bibi) NetanyahuMOREThe Likud party won the most seats in the Israeli legislature, although the party along with its conservative allied factions failed to get the majority needed for a governing coalition.
Conformable Washington Post, the party bloc most likely to line up with Netanyahu won just 52 seats in the 120-member Israeli Knesset this week, just nine of the number needed to reach a majority.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu’s opponents failed to gain a majority, securing 57 seats, according to the Post, leaving questions about how the parties will negotiate to form a governing coalition.
Reuters reported On Thursday, while political commentators initially saw an agreement between Netanyahu and the United Arab List (UAL) as unlikely, some now say the prime minister could agree to improve conditions for Israel’s 21% Arab minority in exchange for support. governmental.
UAL, who has pro-Palestinian sympathies, signaled openness to such an arrangement with the UAL member Waleed Taha told Israel Army Radio in a recent interview: “Sometimes coalitions include people who don’t really like each other,” Reuters reported.
Such a move, however, is likely to face pushes from some of Netanyahu’s supporters, including ultranationalist party Religious Zionism, which said it would give up support for Netanyahu if it reached an agreement with the UAL.
“No right-wing UAL-based government will emerge. Period. Not (with UAL) inside, nor outside, nor by abstention, nor by any other kind of (scheme) “, wrote the leader of religious Zionism Bezalel Smotrich on Facebook, according to Reuters.
The Post said on Thursday that several had turned to the former defense minister Naftali Bennett, a rival of Netanyahu, will join forces with the prime minister.
While Bennett did not rule out such a move, his party’s seven terms in Yamina would still mean that Netanyahu would need two more to reach a ruling coalition.
The elections are taking place amid growing pressure around Netanyahu, whose popularity has strengthened in past elections due to his close relationship with the former President Trump
Donald Trump: Hill’s Morning Report – Biden Goes on Filibuster GOP Seeks to Squeeze Biden, Frontier Democrats Elaine Luria Supports McAuliffe as Governor to Democratic Mayor of Virginia, although the Prime Minister continued to express his optimism amid President Biden’s tougher stance on Israeli action in the West Bank.
This week’s election marks Israel’s fourth in two years and was boosted in December, when its parliament missed a deadline to pass a budget. The recent elections continued to divide Israeli political parties, with several rallies against Netanyahu.
Last week, tens of thousands of protesters they gathered outside Netanyahu’s house, demanding an end to the leader’s 12-year rule.
The prime minister is also facing an alleged corruption scandal that includes allegations of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, although Netanyahu continued to deny any wrongdoing.