If exit polls are to be trusted, right-wing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to win an outright parliamentary majority, Israeli and international media reported.
“Netanyahu held a significant lead in his third electoral showdown with the former army chief Benny Gantz,” reported the New York Times, citing Israeli exit polls from Monday night.
ISRAELI ELECTION: Polls have closed in Israel, and all 3 exit polls from 3 leading TV stations are reporting a big win for Netanyahu and a right-wing goverment.
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) March 2, 2020
If the exit polls are confirmed in the final election results, Netanyahu will face his trial in two-weeks time in a much stronger position, as he will have the first chance to assemble a majority coalition and win a fifth term in office.
“Israeli exit polls have been unreliable, but all three major Israeli television networks gave Mr. Netanyahu 60 seats, one shy of a majority in the 120-member Parliament,” the New York Times reported.
BREAKING:
In Israel's 3rd election in one year, exit polls indicate that Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party will be able to form a government with a 60-seat bloc over opposition leader Benny Gantz's Blue and White Party.#IsraElex2020
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) March 2, 2020
This is Israel’s third election in less than a year. After two elections in April and September last year, neither party was able to form a coalition government, and a similar deadlock remains possible.
“This is uncharted territory for Israel. Never before in Israel’s history has the ruling elite been faced with such legal and political dilemmas,” wrote Palestinian journalist and editor of The Palestine Chronicle, Ramzy Baroud.
“Israelis now find themselves at the cusp of a new era, one that is defined by the breakdown of the country’s legal system, prolonged political crisis and never-ending social instability,” Baroud added.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
