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Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his allies from far-right and religious parties have won a decisive majority after the final vote count in Israel’s parliamentary elections. The left-wing Meretz party was a few thousand votes short of entering the Knesset, which is a historic defeat for the parties of this tendency in the country.
Only Likud, the Israeli right-wing party led by Benjamin Netanyahu, won 32 seats in the Israeli Parliament, while outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid came in second with 24 seats, followed by the religious party from the extreme right, Otzma Yehudit, who won 14 seats. In total, the bloc that supports Netanyahu managed to keep 64 seats, which ensures him a majority to form a new government.
Yair Lapid congratulated Netanyahu and asked his aides to prepare an organized transition of power, according to his office.
“The State of Israel is above any political consideration,” Lapid said on his Twitter account. “I wish Netanyahu to succeed, for the good of the people of Israel and the State of Israel.”
Lapid, who has served as acting prime minister for the past four months, made the announcement just before the release of the final results, which showed a comfortable victory for Netanyahu with his religious and ultra-nationalist allies.
The former ruling Labor party passed the electoral threshold with four seats. The Arab-majority parties Hadash-Ta’al and the United Arab List won five seats each. The Arab nationalist Balad party and Ayelet Shaked’s conservative Habayit Hayehudi party failed to enter the Knesset.
News in development…
AP
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