Bibi reign in doubt

PM cancels trip to US as Israeli election results in deadlock

ISRAEL’S Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s long grip on power appeared in jeopardy last night after a national election left him tied with his main challenger Benny Gantz.

It has raised the prospect of tough negotiations to build a unity government or even the end of the Israeli leader’s record long rule.

In a sign of the demanding talks to come, sources in Mr Netanyahu’s office have revealed he cancelled a planned trip to the UN General Assembly in New York next week due to the “political context” in Israel.

He had been due to meet his “friend” US President Donald Trump on the fringes of the international gathering to discuss a defence treaty between the two allies.

With more than 95 per cent of the ballots now counted, Mr Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud had 32 seats, while Mr Gantz’s Blue and White took 33 places in the 120-member parliament.

However, Mr Gantz’s slim lead gave no obvious path for either party to form a majority coalition, raising the possibility of a unity government.

“There are only two options, a government led by me or a dangerous government dependent on the Arab parties,” Mr Netanyahu said yesterday. “In these times, more than ever, when we face enormous security and political challenges, it cannot be that there will be a government that depends on anti-Zionist Arab parties.”

Throughout his campaign, Mr Netanyahu warned, as he has in previous elections, that left-wing and Arab voters were showing up in large numbers to try to oust him.

It is tipped that the Arab Joint List alliance was set to become the third-largest bloc in Parliament with 13 seats.

“The Netanyahu era is over,” Ahmed Tibi, one of the list’s leaders, said.

“If Gantz calls, we shall tell him our conditions for supporting him.”