JERUSALEM (The Thursday Times) — Benjamin Netanyahu has turned his attention to stopping defections from Likud and to being first in line to form Israel’s next government, and has even signalled he would accept a national unity government, Israeli right-wing media close to the prime minister reported, after exit polls showed his bloc short of a majority.
Netanyahu also plans to lobby President Isaac Herzog to give him the first chance at forming a coalition, according to the reports, which were relayed by Al Jazeera. Netanyahu had still not spoken publicly hours after the exit polls were released, and the reports could not be independently verified.
Far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir rejected any unity arrangement with Gadi Eisenkot, whose opposition bloc was projected to win more seats than Netanyahu’s but also fall short of the 61 needed. Ben-Gvir earlier warned that an Eisenkot-led government “will be paralysing our work”.
‘No way in the world’
Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli ambassador, told Al Jazeera there was “no way in the world Netanyahu can form a coalition government”. Whether he could stay on as caretaker, Pinkas said, depended on whether his opponents were willing to rely on Arab-led parties, which Eisenkot ruled out during the campaign. “There’s a price to pay,” he said, adding that the Arab-led lists were “going to ask for things” a Jewish-led coalition might not want to give.
Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas has said “there is no government” on the current numbers, and that both blocs approached him. Turnout reached 77.7 per cent, the highest since 1999, the Central Elections Committee said. Official results are expected by Wednesday evening.
What comes next
Once results are final, Herzog will consult every party on whom it recommends as prime minister, then task the candidate he judges most likely to succeed. That candidate has 28 days, with a possible 14-day extension. Read our explainer, and follow our coverage of Lieberman’s call for Likud to oust Netanyahu and Likud’s reaction.
