Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo source: Twitter
By Venkatesh Raghavan*
Benjamin Netanyahu returned to power with a comfortable majority in the current round of elections held for the Israeli parliament, namely the Knesset. He has been voted back to power ironically by forging an alliance with the very forces who were seeking to bring to book all instances of breach of trust and graft, namely the Religious Zionist Party.
The irony further extends itself as the main reason for the political revolt against his prime ministerial chair was legal conflicts that courted him and his Party owing to charges of corruption and fraud. He, as the longest-serving Prime Minister of Israel then, had lost his claim to the hot seat owing to charges of corruption and fraud. His nemesis was his former protege Naftali Bennett, who, after heading a coalition that ousted him, had passed on the baton to Yair Lapid in the early spring of 2022 after the elections where his coalition won with a wafer-thin margin. Their mutual arrangement was for Bennett to take over as alternately prime minister in the event of a favourable poll outcome. Netanyahu getting a clear mandate this time has preempted the arrangement. Bennett has sounded his resignation from the post of alternate prime minister after the poll results were announced on November 3, 2022. His coalition that was formed in the previous year’s election failed to survive its full term as other than keeping their common enemy Netanyahu out of power its partners agreed on little else in matters of policy and rights conferred on occupied territories.
Netanyahu’s victory in the currently concluded polls is being seen as a clear mandate for extremist right-wing elements in the poll fray. His return to power happened in the fifth round of elections held in the country since 2019 after a brief year-long sabbatical forced on him by his one-time protégé, Naftali Bennett, who chose to revolt. Netanyahu could be back at the helm after forging a fresh alliance and abandoning former political partners during his uninterrupted stint from 2009 to 2021.
Netanyahu’s return promises to turn into a wait-and-watch game, especially for those seeking a permanent settlement of the Palestinian imbroglio. In tune with the far-right politics that Israel has been consistently pursuing, there is hardly any voice to cry for the seemingly lost cause of Palestinian nationhood. As it is, Israel’s Right-wing politics bar all hope for Palestine.
The former alliance in place headed by Yair Lapid had sought to repeal the law that permitted Jews settled in Palestinian territory to be entitled to all civil rights. Subsequently, the situation led to a breakdown and resulted in fresh parliamentary elections.
Netanyahu’s Likud Party garnered 32 seats in the currently concluded elections with their extreme right-leaning partner, Religious Zionism Party winning 14 seats. The numbers game in favour of Netanyahu’s Likud Party and its alliance partners yielded 64 seats, which happens to be a clear majority in the 120-member Knesset or Israeli parliament. This victory is much more likely to bring political stability to Israel after the country saw five elections in less than four years.
Netanyahu has a four-week stretch for him to complete formalities on the formation of the cabinet and government ministerial positions. Currently, he is still facing trial on corruption charges though he is slated to get invited by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, for government formation within a week. In the process that paved the way for his return to power, Netanyahu has also abandoned ties he had with former allies like Naftali Bennett.
Though it remains to be seen whether the far-right elements in Netanyahu’s alliance team will pursue their goals against bringing to book the culprits of corruption and fraud, there is a clear indication that Israel’s legislative arm is daggers drawn with the country’s judiciary. The anti-judicial pitch emanates from Netanyahu and his followers in the Likud Party over the years.
