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Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu sealed his return to power on Thursday, as the final vote count from elections this week gave him and his far-right allies a clear majority in parliament.
The result sets Netanyahu up to form what may be the most right-wing government in Israeli history.Results released by the electoral commission said that with 99 percent of votes counted,
Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc has an absolute majority with 64 seats in Israel’s 120-seat parliament, the Knesset.
Longest Serving Premier
Netanyahu, who has served as premier for longer than anyone in Israel’s 74-history, will then begin sharing out cabinet posts with his coalition partners.
The right-wing veteran, who has already served a total of 15 years in the position, has described protecting the Jewish state from its enemies as his “life’s mission”.
Benjamin Netanyahu now faces a new test forming a government with an ultranationalist party whose sudden rise has many at home and allies abroad alarmed at the potential implications for Israeli democracy.
In the new government, the Israeli PM has to share the limelight with far-right leader Itamar Ben-Gvir, 46, who appears likely to take a senior role in government after the Religious Zionism bloc he co-heads became the third-largest in parliament with 14 seats.
Whereas religious parties have featured regularly in previous rightist coalitions, Religious Zionism is on course to exercise unprecedented influence, said Assaf Shapira, director of Political Reform at the Israel Democracy Institute.
Supported by many outside the normal base of religious voters, the rise of Ben-Gvir, a fiery provocateur who until recently was calling for Palestinians to be expelled, reflected widespread fears over security among many Israelis.
