Meanwhile, his rival Prime Minister Yair Lapid was reportedly yet to speak to his allies in the seemingly exiting coalition, some of whom were furious at his handling of the campaign. By 10 a.m. Thursday, the Central Election Commission had collected 4,465,929 ballots representing 93 percent of all votes cast, and counting was expected to be completed later Thursday. Netanyahu’s bloc was projected to win 65 seats, giving the former prime minister a comfortable majority to form a government in the 120-seat Knesset after 17 months in opposition with the far-right and Haredi allies. The results marked a stunning comeback for Netanyahu, who is currently on trial in three corruption cases, and will likely end four years of political stalemate that has plunged the country into a series of disastrous elections. Get The Times of Israel Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories By signing up, you agree to the terms While he is supported throughout the election campaign by far-right religious Zionism and the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism, Netanyahu will still have to negotiate with the parties on policy goals and cabinet positions to secure their support, which will it could involve complex negotiations in areas where factions have far-reaching demands or do not see eye to eye. In a signal that Likud believes the coalition will be fairly straightforward, media reports said Netanyahu aimed to have a new Knesset speaker sworn in by Nov. 15, and that he was rushing to assemble a government as soon as possible and quickly oust Lapid from power. However, the Knesset speaker’s office said Thursday that a new speaker can only be appointed after the new Knesset is sworn in. Before that, such a move would require removing the current speaker with a 90 MP supermajority, which is highly unlikely. The timeline would be extremely fast. Coalition negotiations typically take weeks or more, and Netanyahu won’t receive a mandate to form a government until next week. Prime Minister Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, speaks to supporters as exit poll results are announced in the national elections, in Tel Aviv, November 2, 2022. (Tomer Neuberg/Flash90) President Isaac Herzog’s office announced Wednesday that it will begin meetings with party representatives in the Knesset to hear their recommendations for prime minister next week, once the election results are finalized and ratified. Consultations will begin once the final results are officially presented to the president next week. Herzog has until November 16 to announce which legislature he will take on to form a government, although he may do so earlier. In previous rounds, party consultations usually lasted two days. Lawmakers tasked with forming a government have 28 days to do so, with a possible 14-day extension. Netanyahu will almost certainly be given the job with the support of his bloc’s strong presence. Despite preliminary results showing a 65-seat majority, the Likud leader plans to try to entice lawmakers from Lapid-aligned parties to jump ship and join his coalition, Channel 12 reported. His targets likely include members of Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s National Unity alliance, one of the parties ideologically closest to his bloc, which is projected to end up with 12 seats. Gantz, who previously worked with Netanyahu in a unity government only to veer from a promised rotating prime ministership, has said his party will not join Netanyahu in a coalition. However, the alliance also includes Gideon Saar’s New Hope, largely made up of right-wing ex-Likud members. Yisrael Beytenu, another right-wing party currently projected to win five seats, could be another target, although its secular ideology clashes dramatically with Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox partners. National Unity leader Benny Gantz speaks with supporters after the announcement of exit poll results, in Tel Aviv, November 2, 2022. (Avshalom Sassoni/Flash90) Speculation had already begun on Wednesday about ministerial positions and demands from Netanyahu’s allies to join a coalition. Closely watched is extremist Itamar Ben Gvir, whose Otzma Yehudit faction is part of Religious Zionism, currently projected to win 14 seats, making it the third largest. The Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, staunch allies who have stuck with Netanyahu throughout the political turmoil of recent years, are expected to demand the government roll back some of the progressive reforms enacted by the current coalition. Both parties fared well in the election, with the Sephardi Shas predicted to win 11 seats and the Ashkenazi UTJ eight. Their demands are expected to include the cancellation of taxes on sugary drinks and single-use plastic items, staples in the Haredi community, which has felt targeted by the taxes. Shas party leader Aryeh Deri with supporters as the results of the Israeli election are announced, in Jerusalem. November 1, 2022. (Yossi Zamir/Flash90 ) Shas and United Torah Judaism are also expected to demand the cancellation of reforms to the kosher food certification system. reversing changes to the conversion process; ensuring that Yeshiva students are not subject to conscription; and seeking budgets for religious schools, including those that do not meet state education standards for basic studies. Netanyahu’s far-right allies in the Religious Zionist party are expected to demand sweeping judicial reforms and prominent ministerial posts. Ben Gvir said he would demand from the public security ministry, which oversees the police. Netanyahu said on Monday that he is a viable candidate for the position. Religious Zionist leader Bezalel Smotrich has expressed interest in the finance, justice and especially defense ministries, although Netanyahu is seen as more likely to give that role to Likud MK Yoav Gallant, a former senior general in the Israel Defense Forces, and take over Smotrich. Ministry of Finance. Neither Smotrich nor Ben Gvir served in the military, although other lawmakers without significant military experience previously held security portfolios. There is also speculation that he may be given the Justice Ministry, from which he will seek major changes to the judicial system, including bundling the committee that selects judges with politicians, removing some of the charges Netanyahu faces from the criminal code and push legislation that would effectively strip the Supreme Court of its ability to strike down unconstitutional legislation, a policy goal also supported by the ultra-Orthodox. Otzma party leader Yehudit Itamar Ben Gvir outside a hotel the morning after Israel’s general election, in Jerusalem, November 2, 2022. (Flash90) Right-wing politicians have complained for years that the Supreme Court is an anti-democratic leftist bastion, seeking to change its composition and strip it of its ability to act as a check on the power of the government or the Knesset. Critics have warned that the ultranationalists of Religious Zionism could also use government power to strip Arab citizens of their rights and cause social divisions and tensions with the Palestinians, as well as with Israel’s allies abroad.
Calculation on the left
On the other side of the aisle, Lapid reportedly avoided talks with his allies after his bloc’s poor performance. Lapid was due to speak with Gantz overnight Wednesday-Thursday and will speak to other party leaders in his coalition only after the final election results are announced, public broadcaster Kan reported, about 24 hours after the initial return of ballots that showed that his former allies could not muster a majority. Some of Lapid’s coalition partners criticized him for his handling of the campaign immediately after exit polls showed his coalition defeated. Sources accused Lapid of failing to properly guide members of his coalition bloc to achieve the best results for the centre-left, and instead focused on building his own Yesh Atid party at the expense of two key allies, the leftist Meretz and the Workers. political parties. Yesh Atid is expected to win 24 seats, its best ever showing. But Meretz is not expected to secure the minimum number of votes needed to enter the Knesset, a stunning setback for the longtime leftist beacon. From 5:30 am as of Thursday, the party was at 3.17 percent, several thousand votes short of the 3.25 percent threshold it needs to pass. It was not expected to make up the ground, with the only uncounted ballots left being so-called double-envelope votes from soldiers, diplomats and others who could not vote at their regular polling stations. Meretz party supporters react as the results of the Israeli election are announced, in Jerusalem, November 1, 2022. (Flash90) “Lapid acted recklessly, he didn’t manage the bloc, he didn’t take care of the Arabs, he didn’t take care of the surplus agreements,” an unnamed official told Channel 12 News. Surplus deals allow two parties that pass the electoral threshold to collect votes worth less than a full seat, potentially adding an MK to one of the parties to the deal. “[He] behaved like a cannibalistic pig that tried to disappear [other parties] to be the largest party, and this is the result,” the official said of Lapid. Lapid had pushed hard for Meretz and Labor to join forces and present a joint plan last month, but Labor leader Merav Michaeli…
