The results were also a sign of a constant shift of Israeli voters to the right wing, opposing concessions in peace talks with the Palestinians, highlighted by the strong showing of an ultranationalist anti-Arab religious party.
Despite the unconvincing results, Netanyahu claims that his Likud party has achieved a ‘great victory’ with fellow right-wing parties.
“It is clear that a clear majority of Israeli citizens are on the right, and they want a strong and stable right-wing government that will protect the economy of Israel, the security of Israel and the land of Israel. That is what we will do, ”he said on Facebook.
Exit polls have often been inaccurate in the past, which means that the final results, which are expected in the coming days, could still shift the balance of power. Even if the final results are in line with Tuesday’s exit polls, there is no guarantee that Netanyahu will succeed in forming a coalition.
Yohanan Plesner, president of the Israel Democracy Institute, said the initial exit polls suggest the election was still a very close call.
Although Netanyahu, which is in the midst of a corruption trial, manages to build a close government, it has not been granted a license to revamp the constitutional composition of the state, Plesner said.
“All three options are on the table: a government led by Netanyahu, a change coalition that will leave Netanyahu in opposition, and an interim government that will lead to a fifth election,” he said.
Several right-wing parties have vowed never to sit with Netanyahu in a government. And Bennett, a former Netanyahu ally who became a harsh critic, refused to endorse one of the parties during the campaign.
Bennett shares Netanyahu’s stubborn nationalist ideology and seems more likely to eventually join the prime minister. But Bennett did not rule out joining forces with Netanyahu’s opponents.
In a speech to his supporters, Bennett said he would promote right-wing values in the next government, but he failed to endorse Netanyahu and even took a few veils about the prime minister’s leadership style.
“Now is the time for healing,” he said. “What was is not what will be.”
Bennett has indicated that he will make a hard bargain with Netanyahu, while demanding senior cabinet ministers and perhaps even including a power-sharing arrangement that includes a term as prime minister.
In addition, their partners will also include some ultra-Orthodox religious parties and the ‘Religious Zionists’, a party whose leaders are openly racist and homophobic. One of its leaders, Itamir Ben-Gvir, is a disciple of the late Rabbi Meir Kahane, whose Kach party was branded a terrorist group by the United States before Kahane was assassinated in 1990 in New York.
Relying on the party can be very embarrassing for Netanyahu on the international scene, especially as he tries to court the new Biden government.
The election campaign was largely without content and is rather seen as a referendum on Netanyahu’s divisive rule.
During the campaign, Netanyahu highlighted Israel’s extremely successful coronavirus vaccination campaign. He pulled aggressively to secure enough vaccines for the 9.3 million people of Israel, and within three months, the country had vaccinated about 80% of its adult population. This enabled the government to open restaurants, shops and the airport just in time for election day.
He also tried to portray himself as a global statesman, pointing to the four diplomatic agreements he reached with Arab countries last year. The agreements were mediated by his close ally, then-President Donald Trump.
Netanyahu’s opponents say the prime minister has confused many aspects of the pandemic, particularly by allowing his ultra-Orthodox allies to ignore lock-in rules and incite a high infection rate for most of the year.
More than 6,000 Israelis have died from Covid-19, and the economy remains weak with double-digit unemployment.
They also point to the Netanyahu corruption trial and say that anyone charged with serious crimes is not fit to lead the country. Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and the acceptance of bribes in a series of scandals he dismisses as a witch-hunt by a hostile media and legal system.
Even Netanyahu’s reputation as a statesman has suffered a bit over the past few days. The United Arab Emirates, the most important of the four Arab countries to establish official diplomatic ties with Israel, made it clear last week that they do not want to be used as part of Netanyahu’s re-election bid after being forced to pay a visit to the country. The Biden government has also kept its distance, a contrast to the support it received from Trump in the recent election.
Netanyahu’s Likud party is expected to appear as the largest individual party, with just over 30 seats in parliament with 120 seats, followed by the centrist opposition party Yesh Atid, with about 17 seats.
The rest of parliament would be divided between ten other small parties. It ranges from an Arab party to left-wing secular parties to a few secular, right-wing parties.
Overall, Netanyahu and his allies are expected to control 53 to 54 seats, while his opponents are expected to control about 58 or 59, while Bennett will control the rest.