Netanyahu in the lead in the election – but without a majority

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Netanyahu in the lead in the election – but without a majority

Will Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu remain in power? Or will there be a change of government? The political veteran is confident of victory on election night despite the unclear outcome – and threatens Iran.

In the landmark parliamentary election in Israel has the right-wing religious camp of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu According to forecasts, he has lost his majority, but the head of government is confident of victory. His right-wing conservative Likud party is “the largest party in Israel” and remains the strongest force in parliament, Netanyahu told supporters that night. Behind it is the center party Jashar of ex-military chief Gadi Eisenkot. His camp, which also consists of several parties, also missed the majority. Forming a government is likely to be difficult.

Eisenkot called on Netanyahu to resign because his coalition had “lost the trust of the people.” Netanyahu, however, said that the election had shown that the right-wing camp had a clear majority within the Jewish population. You have to wait for the votes to be counted.

In order to form a government, Eisenkot would have to rely on the support of Arab parties, which were making strong gains. They could either serve as a coalition partner or tolerate a minority government. In purely mathematical terms, the opposition could form a government with the help of the Arab parties. But not all members of the opposition camp are ready for this.

Netanyahu called for the formation of a strong right-wing government. “We must not form a government based on Arab, anti-Zionist parties,” he said. Netanyahu accused the Arab parties of agitating against the existence of Israel, calling the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas a charity and denigrating Israeli soldiers as war criminals.

At the same time, Netanyahu warned of the threat posed by the archenemy Iran don’t be banned yet. “As long as the fanatical regime exists, they will continue to try to destroy us,” he said. Together with the USA Israel must “eliminate this threat once and for all.” Israel and the United States have waged two wars against Iran since last year, starting the most recent with their attacks in February.

There is speculation as to whether a new war against the Islamic Republic can be expected to begin soon. The Wall Street Journal, citing informed sources, reported that the US had asked several Arab Gulf states to prepare for a short, intensive military operation after the US midterm elections. They’re due on November 3rd.

US President Donald Trump has not yet made a final decision but is leaning toward a full-scale attack after the midterm elections, the US newspaper reported, citing people familiar with his deliberations. A joint attack with its ally Israel could therefore target Iran’s infrastructure and nuclear facilities. An alternative would be to try to reach an agreement with the leadership in Tehran. However, the diplomatic efforts of regional mediators have so far not borne fruit.