Jerusalem: Israel’s 4th election in two years failed once again to produce a clear winner, as the pro-Netanyahu group has the declared support of 52 members of the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament), while his opponents have 57 Knesset Members (KM).
To form a government 61 members of the Knesset are needed. Israel is clearly heading towards a period of paralysis and acrimony among the various parties, that may lead to a fifth election late in the summer. The Israeli electoral representation system makes it almost impossible for a single party to win an election outright. Netanyahu’s party Likud won 24.2 percent of the vote and now has 30 Knesset Members (six less than before), while the centrist Yesh Atid, the main opposition party, won 13.9 percent of the vote, having secured 17 seats in the Knesset.
The heterogeneous coalition of the anti-Netanyahu parties of Yesh Atid (17 seats), Kahol Lavan (8 seats), Yisrael Beiteinu (7 seats), Labor (7seats), New Hope (6 seats), Joint List (6 seats), and Meretz (6 seats) garner together 57 KMs and need another 4 to form a government. Netanyahu and his extreme right-wing, religious, and Zionist allies control 52 KMs i.e. Likud (30 seats), Shas (9 seats) United Torah Judaism (7 seats), and Religious Zionism (6 seats), so they need the support of another 9 members of the Knesset. Two parties- the right-wing Yamina party of Naftaly Bennet, which has elected 7 MKs and the United Arab List (Raam) of Mansur Abbas, which managed to elect 4 MKs, so far remain uncommitted and will be the kingmakers, as Netanyahu needs the support of both these parties to form a government, while his opponents need at least one of the two parties.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin this week will have consultations with all parties and eventually give the mandate to the candidate who has the highest probability of forming a government. Negotiations between the parties that will eventually succeed in forming a governing coalition usually take several weeks. Many Israelis believe that the real reason why Netanyahu caused the March 23 election was to halt the criminal trial that will start on April 5. He is accused of getting gifts from millionaire friends and for giving regulatory favors for media tycoons in return for favorable coverage.
