Israel: Bibi holds key talks on forming government
JERUSALEM: Veteran hawk Benjamin Netanyahu launched negotiations on Friday with his ultra-Orthodox and far-right allies on forming what could be the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, raising concerns at home and abroad.
Netanyahu’s Likud party won 32 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, according to the latest official results of the election released on Thursday night.
That combined with 18 for two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and 14 for the rising extreme-right alliance called Religious Zionism gave the right-wing bloc supporting Netanyahu 64 seats.
The centrist bloc of outgoing caretaker prime minister Yair Lapid won 51 seats, marking a definitive win for Netanyahu and an end to Israel’s unprecedented era of political deadlock, which forced five elections in less than four years.
That will likely mean prominent roles for the co-leaders of far-right Religious Zionism, which doubled its representation at Tuesday’s election.
“Where are they headed?” said the headline of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper with pictures of Netanyahu and Itamar Ben-Gvir, an extreme-right figure who looks set to be a major player in the new administration.
The election result came amid the backdrop of soaring violence between Israel and the Palestinians.
Israel army said its fighter jets early Friday targeted a rocket manufacturing site in the blockaded Gaza Strip, in response to several rockets fired towards Israel.
On Thursday, four Palestinians, including an assailant, were killed by Israeli forces in Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken voiced “deep concern” about the violence and called for de-escalation.