How Benjamin Netanyahu won Israel's election by not losing - and what comes next
Benjamin Netanyahu has emerged victorious in Israel's election, defying polls despite not securing a clear 61-seat coalition, and is expected to pursue a unity government. His opponent, Gadi Eisenkot, faces a more challenging path requiring support from Arab parties with contentious views on Israel's identity and Hamas.
Why it matters
This election outcome significantly impacts Israel's political landscape, potentially leading to prolonged coalition negotiations or another election, and highlights the deep divisions within Israeli society and its political factions. Netanyahu's continued political resilience shapes the country's future domestic and foreign policies.
Oops, he did it again.For seemingly the umpteenth time, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defied the polls, the odds, and conventional wisdom, emerging from Tuesday's election with the upper hand.In the final weeks of the campaign, Yashar party head Gadi Eisenkot repeated one refrain: he would not allow Netanyahu to win by not losing.In the end, that is precisely what happened.True, Netanyahu does not have a clear path to a 61-seat coalition. But he is firmly in the driver's seat.With a majority among the country's Jewish parties, he will likely call for some kind of unity government, trying to bring in Eisenkot's party, or part of it, along with the parties of Naftali Bennett and Avigdor Liberman.Eisenkot's path to 61 is harder than Netanyahu'sEisenkot's path to 61 is much harder because it would require support from the Arab parties, whether inside or outside the coalition.
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Israeli Election Results Leave Parliament Deadlocked as Neither Major Bloc Secures Majority
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