Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared headed toward re-election early Wednesday (local time), as close-to-complete unofficial results showed him pulling ahead of his main competitor in a tight race seen as a referendum on the long-serving leader.
With a victory, Netanyahu would capture a fourth consecutive term and fifth overall, which by mid-year will make him Israel’s longest-ever serving leader. Re-election will give him an important boost as he braces for the likelihood of criminal charges in a series of corruption scandals.
The election outcome affirmed Israel’s continued tilt to the right and further dimmed hopes of a negotiated solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In the final stretch of the campaign, Netanyahu had for the first time pledged to annex parts of the occupied West Bank in a desperate bid to rally his right-wing base. Annexation would snuff out the last flicker of hope for Palestinian statehood.
Both Netanyahu and his challenger, former military chief Benny Gantz, leader of the rival Blue and White party, had declared victory in speeches to boisterous gatherings of supporters. But as the night went on, there were growing signs that Netanyahu’s Likud was pulling ahead.
“It’s a night of tremendous victory,” Netanyahu told supporters. “I was very moved that the nation of Israel once again entrusted me for the fifth time, and with an even greater trust.”
He said he had already begun talking to fellow right wing and religious parties about forming a new coalition.
“I want to make it clear, it will be a right-wing government, but I intend to be the prime minister of all Israeli citizens, right or left, Jews and non-Jews alike,” he said.
Read the article by Aron Heller in The Sydney Morning Herald.