3rd vote charm for Bibi?
Israeli PM leads, but may not be enough to form gov’t
JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a solid edge over his main rival in Israel’s third election in under a year, exit polls indicated Monday night, but it was unclear whether he could clinch the parliamentary majority needed to claim victory.
Exit polls on Israel’s main TV channels showed Netanyahu and his nationalist and religious allies winning 60 seats, one short of a parliamentary majority. The centerleft bloc, led by former military chief Benny Gantz, was projected to win 52-54 seats.
If the results from Monday’s election match the exit polls, Netanyahu would receive a boost ahead of his trial on corruption charges, set to begin March 17.
Netanyahu, the longestserving leader in Israeli history, has been a caretaker prime minister for more than a year as a divided country has weathered two inconclusive votes and prolonged political paralysis. With preelection opinion polls forecasting another deadlock, Netanyahu had sought a late surge in support to score a parliamentary majority along with other nationalist parties for a fourth consecutive term in office and fifth overall.
He appeared to get it in the form of a surprisingly high turnout despite the weariness accompanying the second repeat election.
Netanyahu tweeted a heart emoji with the word “thanks” as well as a photo of himself surrounded by his family, aides and supporters proclaiming “a giant victory for Israel.”
Miri Regev, a senior Likud member, proclaimed an “overwhelming victory” for Netanyahu’s party.
“The nation had its say, a referendum that proved the trust of the people in Netanyahu and in the Likud, with all the indictments and all the attempts to depose Netanyahu,”
Regev said.
Netanyahu’s Likud party was projected to win 36-37 seats, a gain from September’s 32. Gantz’s centrist Blue and White party, which ran on a message that the prime minister is unfit to lead because of the serious charges against him, was projected to win 32-33 seats, roughly the same as September.
Gantz did not concede defeat and said he would “continue fighting” on behalf of his supporters.
Despite Netanyahu’s impressive showing, neither party appeared able to form a coalition with its traditional allies. With the prospect of a unity government between them seemingly off the table after a particularly nasty campaign, the vote may well turn into merely a preamble to another election if Netanyahu’s Likud can’t garner an additional seat.
President Trump’s Mideast initiative, which strongly favors Israel and was rejected by the Palestinians, had been expected to give Netanyahu a major boost. Both Netanyahu and Gantz welcomed the initiative, and it appears to have had little effect on voters.