Benjamin Netanyahu won the support of an unexpectedly clear majority of Israeli Jews in an election billed as a major turning point in his nation’s history, apparently ensuring he will survive as prime minister at least in a caretaker role.
With around 77.6 per cent of votes tallied on Wednesday morning, Israeli media forecast Netanyahu’s bloc of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties winning 54 seats in parliament, far surpassing 49 for the opposition bloc of rival Gadi Eisenkot.
Parties representing Israelis of Arab descent would win 17, a record, following high turnout from passionately motivated voters.
The results could still change as counting continued, but a victory for Eisenkot appeared increasingly out of reach, as his bloc of anti-Netanyahu parties from centre-left to hard-right underperformed pre-election polls that forecast a tight race.
While Netanyahu lost his bloc’s majority in the 120-seat Knesset, as expected, his opponents were left with no hope of unseating him without an unlikely deal to accept broad backing from Arab parties, which many Jewish leaders reject.
Even then, he would remain as caretaker during any coalition negotiations, or until a new election next year.
