Israel to vote in parliamentary election
Israeli’s to vote in 3rd parliamentary elections within a year after two inconclusive results.
Enough already: after three rounds of elections in just 12 months, Israel urgently needs a fully functioning and stable government, not a paralyzed, caretaker one.
Incredibly, given the inconclusive results of yesterday’s vote, some Israeli politicians and pundits are already talking of a possible fourth round of elections.
Absolutely not.
NETANYAHU CLAIMS 'BIGGEST WIN' IN ISRAELI ELECTIONS, AS PARTIAL RESULTS SHOW SHORT OF MAJORITY
Israeli voters are sending a clear and consistent message. We aren’t giving full power to either the right or left wing blocs for a reason.
We want true statesmen to step up and form a broad-based national unity government that will put the needs of the nation ahead of petty and exhausting partisanship.
The reasons are obvious.
We see grave and rising threats from Iran and terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, Hamas, al Qaeda, ISIS and others. We see rockets continuing to be fired at us from Gaza and know that the prospect of a third war with Lebanon is steadily growing.
At the same time, we see historic, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities emerging. It’s clear that Israel has the chance to forge better relations – and possibly full-blown peace treaties and trade relationships – not with the Palestinian leadership (unfortunately), but with Gulf states like Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Oman and Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, we realize that President Trump is the most pro-Israel leader in American history and that we must seize the moment to work with him to further strengthen the U.S.-Israel strategic alliance and advance regional peace while we have the chance.
What if Trump is not in the White House next January? What if he is replaced by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., the most hostile and anti-Israel presidential candidate to ever emerge as a front-runner?
As the smoke fades from yesterday’s vote, one thing is clear: Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu and his right-wing Likud Party had a very good night.
With some 97 percent of the votes counted, Netanyahu’s team appears to have won 36 seats in Israel’s parliament, known as The Knesset.
That’s up four seats from the September 2019 elections.
By contrast, Netanyahu’s main rival, Benny Gantz – the former chief of staff of the Israeli Defense Forces and founder of the centrist Blue and White Party – appears to have won only 32 seats.
That is Gantz’s worst showing thus far. It’s a loss one seat from September and down three seats from the April 2019 elections.
The good news for Netanyahu – already Israel’s longest-serving premier yet facing trial on three separate corruption indictments that begins on March 17 – is that he is on track to be given the first opportunity to form a government.
The problem is that the right-wing parties appear to have won a combined total of only 59 seats. That’s two seats short of the number needed to create an operating majority in the 120-seat Knesset.
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What’s more, the leader of the “Israel Our Home” party – one of the smaller center-right factions that has always helped Netanyahu form governments in the past – now refuses to do so again.
“The Netanyahu era is over,” says Avigdor Lieberman, who used to be Netanyahu’s chief political adviser before breaking off and forming his own party.
“Netanyahu has been in power for too long and has lost the instincts and the motivation to work and do what is necessary [for the country],” Lieberman says.
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By next week, the final vote tally will be released. Each party’s number of seats may be adjusted slightly. Only then will we know whether Netanyahu can build a narrow right-wing majority, as he would prefer.
If he cannot, then we absolutely must not go to a fourth round of elections.
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Rather, Netanyahu and Gantz must accept the will of the people by forming a rotational government. Netanyahu can serve as prime minister for the first two years. Gantz can then serve for the next two years. Each can then serve as the other’s foreign minister.
Now is the moment to work together with the Trump administration to counter the Iran threat, fight radical Islamist terrorists and forge peace with the Gulf Arab states. We have no more time to waste.
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