Israel Headed for Hung Parliament

On 17 Sept., the State of Israel held a national-legislative election for the Knesset, an adapted Israeli Parliament. The election was announced after Prime-Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a coalition between his Conservative Likud Party, and other Right-wing parties after April elections.

This election has been seen as a referendum on the incredibly divisive Mr Netanyahu. The new Blue and White Party, headed by former military officer Benny Gantz, is seeking to form a Centre-left coalition against Mr Netanyahu to force him from office.

With over 96 per cent of votes counted, officials from the Central Election Committee predict that Blue and White will receive 32 out of 120 seats, with Likud receiving another 32 out of 120. This result rules out a majority government and would force both Mr Gantz and Mr Netanyahu into contentious coalition talks. Both the Centre-right and Centre-left coalition (led by Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gantz, respectively) are projected to receive 56 seats. This result would be five short of a governing majority, as reported by the British Broadcasting Corporation.

Both Mr Gantz and Mr Netanyahu have promised to form a government and enter coalition talks. Previous coalition talks, led by Prime-Minister Netanyahu, fell apart over contention between Likud leaders and leaders of various Right-wing and Orthodox parties. These tensions most notably flared over a military draft law, which many Orthodox parties oppose, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Mr Gantz has also rejected calls from Mr Netanyahu to form a coalition government. Mr Netanyahu proposed negotiating a power-sharing agreement. The Blue and White Party seems to have little interest in such a proposition.

Former Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman (leader of the hard-right Yisrael Beitenu Party) from Mr Netanyahu's coalition in 2018, in protest of the Gaza Ceasefire Agreement. His move to leave the coalition was the event to initially force Prime-Minister to call early elections last April.

Mr Lieberman's move seems to have paid off as he will likely be the 'kingmaker' of this election. The Yisrael Beitenu Party is projected to have eight to 10 sets in the Knesset, giving them considerable influence over any governing coalition.

During the campaign, Mr Netanyahu frequently invoked the support of American President Donald Trump, a popular figure in Israel. Additionally, the Prime-Minister promised to annex the Palestinean controlled Jordan Valley (most of what now makes up the West Bank region) Likud has always been weary of dealing with the Palestinean Authority (the legal government of the West Bank and Gaza Strip) as well as United Nations-sponsored conferences. It is still unclear how effective these Likud polcies were effective this election cycle.

Mr Gantz, on the other hand, led a campaign of opposition against the current government. The former Lieutenant-General formed a coalition of Centre-left parties, including the once-dominant Labor Party (a Social-Democratic outfit). Mr Gantz and his coalition take more of a consiliatory stance to the United Nations and have signalled they are more open to negotiaitons containing the Palestinean Authority.

The Arab List Party (a Left-wing party concerned with Arab-Israeli interests) also saw an increase in the Knesset, much to the chagrin of Mr Netanyahu.

Mr Netanyahu has also faced criticism due to corruption allegations made against him and his wife, Sara Netanyahu, by Tel Aviv police. With his majority in the Knesset, the Prime-Minister was mostly immune to charges. However, without such a mandate, his legal troubles may increase.

It appears that the reign of 'King Bibi' (a popular nickname for Prime-Minister Netanyahu) may be coming to an end. However, we can only wait to find out the full results.

Sources:

“Israel Election: Netanyahu and Rival Gantz Headed for Deadlock.” BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation, 18 Sept. 2019,

www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49740981

Heller, Haron, "Gamble pays off for Lieberman, who becomes Israeli kingmaker." AP, Associated Press, 18 Sept. 2019,

https://www.apnews.com/192335a30dca44e59fb1534974de5891

Tarnopolsy, Nora and King, Laura, "Israel’s Netanyahu refrains from claiming victory as early count gives rival an edge." LA Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sept. 2019

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2019-09-16/israel-election-netanyahu-high-stakes

"Police say Sara Netanyahu suspect in Israel corruption case." AP, Associated Press, 30 Aug. 2018,

hhttps://apnews.com/56e5e26c4b86407aa2603b6ccd7535be

"The reign of Bibi Netanyahu is ending." The Economist, The Economist Group, 19 Sept. 2019,

https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/09/21/the-reign-of-bibi-netanyahu-is-ending