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ISRAEL-VOTE
Indicted Netanyahu claims victory in Israel vote
JERUSALEM, March 3, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
claimed victory on Tuesday in Israel’s general election, with exit polls
putting the indicted premier in a strong position to form the next
government.
Monday’s election, Israel’s third in less than a year, was called after
inconclusive votes in April and September left the Jewish state in a
political deadlock.
Ballots were still being counted with official tallies expected later
Tuesday.
But exit polls by three networks gave Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party
between 36 and 37 seats in Israel’s 120-member parliament.
That would mark the party’s best-ever result under Netanyahu, who first
served as premier from 1996-1999 and whose current tenure began in 2009.
The estimates gave Likud and its right-wing allies, including ultra-
Orthodox parties, 59 seats — two short of a majority.
Likud’s main challenger, the centrist Blue and White party, was projected
to win between 32 and 34 seats.
Counting its centre-left allies as well as the mainly Arab Joint List
alliance, the anti-Netanyahu camp was expected to control 54 to 55 seats.
While there remains no guarantee that Netanyahu can form a coalition, he
hailed Monday’s election as a “giant” success.
“This is the most important victory of my life,” he told a boisterous crowd
of supporters in Tel Aviv.
In a statement, Likud said Netanyahu had spoken to all the heads of right-
wing parties and “agreed to form a strong national government for Israel as
soon as possible”.
Blue and White’s leader, ex-military chief Benny Gantz, admitted
“disappointment” with the result.
But he stressed that regardless of the final tally Netanyahu is still due
to go on trial on March 17 after being charged with bribery, fraud and breach
of trust.
“In two weeks, he will be in court,” Gantz said.
The president of the Israel Democracy Institute think-tank, Yohanan
Plesner, said the projections showed that Netanyahu had “won a significant
political mandate from the Israeli people”.
But, he added, the country was heading towards “unprecedented” legal
uncertainty as the probable head of government will be forced to “fight to
clear his name in court”.
– Coalition talks –
While Netanyahu will likely be tapped by President Reuven Rivlin to form a
government, his path to a 61-seat majority remains unclear.
The projections indicate that the secular, nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu
party won six or seven seats and may again be able to play kingmaker, the
same position it was in following the April and September votes.
Party leader Avigdor Lieberman served as defence minister in a previous
Netanyahu government and his support would easily put Likud over the crucial
61-seat line.
But after the September vote Lieberman said he would only join a government
of national unity — ruling out cooperation with the ultra-Orthodox parties
allied to Netanyahu and the Arab camp that backed Gantz.
“There is no choice but to wait for the final results and only then conduct
a situation assessment,” Lieberman said after the exit polls were released.
Despite again falling short of a majority, the mood in the Likud camp was
celebratory.
“Finally, we won,” party member Ran Carmi Buzaglo told AFP at the Tel Aviv
rally, where people danced, sang and waves flags while shouting “Bibi, king
of Israel,” using the prime minister’s nickname.
– Coronavirus –
The premier campaigned on his tough position towards the Palestinians and
on Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.
In January, US President Donald Trump unveiled a controversial peace plan
approving Israel’s annexation of settlements and swathes of land in the West
Bank, sparking Palestinian outrage.
Bolstered by US support, Netanyahu has campaigned on building thousands
more homes in Jewish settlements in the Palestinian territory, even though
they are considered illegal by the international community.
Reacting to the result, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said the
exit polls showed that “settlement, annexation and apartheid had won”.
Gantz, a security hawk, was also supportive of the Trump plan, sparking
criticism from the left that he did not offer a real alternative to
Netanyahu.
The election was being held amid the coronavirus epidemic, with two new
cases confirmed Monday — raising the tally in Israel to 12.
Another 5,600 Israelis are under self-quarantine, many of whom visited
countries where the virus is prevalent.
At 18 special polling stations, those under quarantine met election staff
in full protective suits and masks.
Voters had to wash their hands and wear gloves before casting their
ballots, presenting their ID cards to election officials separated by plastic
sheets.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0825 hrs