Belying the prediction of opinion polls that his Likud Party would trail behind the Zionist Union, Israel's hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came victorious in the election held on March17. The 'scare tactic' adopted by the Israeli prime minister in seeking votes two days ahead of the election might have turned upside down the voting trend in Israel. In the last-minute media blitz, Netanyahu had warned that Israel was about to fall prey to the new left wing government that would sell out the country's security interests and allow establishing the Palestinian state. Netanyahu also declared there would be no state of Palestine which was clearly a deviation from his commitment. The White House criticised the use of the 'divisive rhetoric' when Netanyahu suggested left wingers were bringing Israeli-Arab voters to the polls 'in droves to sway' the election against Netanyahu. Netanyahu also committed to building settlements for the Jewish people in the occupied territories knowing full well that it violated international law.
Republican lawmakers in the US Congress under the leadership of Speaker John Boehner had invited the Israeli prime minister to speak at a joint session of the Congress on March 3, just 14 days ahead of the Israeli election in violation of protocol. It may have strengthened his position in Israel.
Netanyahu claimed in an interview with the Voice of Israel Radio last week that the Scandinivian governments had spent millions of dollars in a campaign to remove him from power. Similarly, the Obama administration adamantly rejected the allegation that it had deliberately contributed to electoral campaigns against Benjamin Netanyahu.
Results of the election indicate that the Likud Party of Benjamin Netanyahu won 30 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, while the Zionist Union leader Isaac Herzog trailed behind by only 6 seats against the Likud Party. The Israel-Arab Party secured the third place in the Knesset. It is unpredictable as to which political party would be able to muster 60 seats in Israeli parliament to form a government. There is a possibility of forming a coalition government by Benjamin Netanyahu, along with the right-wing small political and religious parties.
According to law, the president of Israel will invite Benjamin Netanyahu to form government. If he fails to do so within a week, Isaac Herzog of the Zionist Union will get the chance to form a coalition government. Therefore, the formation of a government by the Zionist Union cannot be ruled out.
If Benjamin Netanyahu succeeds in forming a coalition government, he will be placed on course to complete a fourth term as prime minister. That means he will earn the title of the longest serving prime minister of Israel after its first prime minister. The first Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion, who declared independence of Israel on May14, 1948, served as premier for eleven years.
President Barack Obama has not yet conveyed congratulations to Benjamin Netanyahu and was waiting to see the formation of a unity government in Israel. Meanwhile, the press secretary to the US president criticised Netanyahu for rejecting the two-state solution in Israel.
Bitterness between the US president and the prime minister of Israel, if Netanyahu can form the government, would deteriorate because of the latter's comment that no Palestinian state would be under his watch. Palestinian leader Saeb Erekat, chief negotiator for peace talks with Israel, reacted sharply by saying that intensification of Palestinian attempts to internationalise the conflict through the International Criminal Court could not be ruled out.
The writer, a retired diplomat from Bangladesh and former president of Nova chapter of Toastmasters International Club of America, writes from Virginia.
amjad.21@gmail.com
Watching Netanyahu after Israeli poll
Mohammad Amjad Hossain | Published: March 21, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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