The appointment of Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s next prime minister is mere inches away. According to the results of the vote count on Thursday, he has a practically insurmountable lead against Prime Minister Yair Lapid. According to the Central Elections Committee, more than 90% of the votes have been counted, and the results favor Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition in the nation’s sixth election in four years.
It is possible that the coalition of his Likud party, its ultra-Orthodox Jewish supporters, and Religious Zionism would result in the most right-wing administration in Israeli history. While the final votes were being tallied, the Netanyahu-supporting group held 65 seats. According to reports, the US State Department is worried about the possibility of having far-right ministers in a potential coalition administration.
Netanyahu will be given 42 days by President Isaac Herzog to form a government
If the left-leaning Meretz party is successful in winning at least four seats in the parliament, which it appears to be doing, Netanyahu’s margin of victory is likely to change slightly. President Isaac Herzog will allow Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 42 days to form a government following the declaration of his victory.
Netanyahu began discussing the makeup of the cabinet
According to local media sources, Netanyahu has already begun discussing the makeup of the cabinet with coalition partners. Co-leaders of the extreme right’s Religious Zionism party, which is predicted to gain 14 seats, would likely receive key positions in the Cabinet when he distributes those positions.
Itamar Ben-Gvir has expressed interest in becoming the minister of public security, which would put him in charge of the police. Ben-Gvir, who advocates for Israel’s annexation of the whole West Bank, is well known for his anti-Arab vitriol. In order to quell Palestinian protests, he has been advising security personnel to use more force.
“It’s time we go back to being masters of our country,” Ben-Gvir had said on election night.
The previous few weeks have seen an increase in violence throughout the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which Israel has annexed. An Israeli police officer was stabbed on Thursday in Jerusalem’s Old City before the attacker was fatally shot, according to the police.