Netanyahu’s top partner in government is expected to be the far-right Religious Zionism party, whose leading candidate, Itamar Ben-Gvir, is a disciple of a racist anti-Arab rabbi.
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Ben-Gvir says he wants to end Palestinian autonomy in parts of the West Bank and until recently hung a photo in his home of Baruch Goldstein, an American-Israeli who killed 29 Palestinians in an attack in the West Bank in 1994. Ben -Gvir, who wants to deport the Arab legislators, says he wants to put himself in charge of the national police.
Religious Zionism has vowed to enact changes to Israeli law that could make Netanyahu’s legal troubles disappear, and along with other nationalist allies, want to weaken the independence of the judiciary and concentrate more power in the hands of lawmakers.
Party leader Bezalel Smotrich, a West Bank settler who has made anti-Arab statements, has his sights set on the defense ministry. This would make him the overseer of Israel’s army and military occupation of the West Bank.
As the votes were counted, Israeli-Palestinian violence escalated, with at least four Palestinians killed in separate incidents and an Israeli police officer slightly wounded in a stabbing.
Ben-Gvir used the incidents to promise a tougher approach to Palestinian attackers once he enters government.
“The time has come to restore safety to the streets,” he tweeted. “It’s time to take out a terrorist coming out to make an attack!”
The growing power of Israel’s right wing came at the expense of its left flank. The Labor party, once a mainstay of Israeli politics and a supporter of Palestinian statehood, faltered just above the electoral threshold.
As the counting of votes drew to a close, the anti-occupation Meretz appeared headed for political exile for the first time since its foundation in the 1990s.
Meretz leader Zehava Galon admitted the party would not be in the next parliament. “This is a disaster for Meretz, a disaster for the country and yes, a disaster for me,” he said.
After the results are formally announced, Israel’s ceremonial president selects a candidate, who will be Netanyahu, to form a government.
He will then have four weeks to do so. Netanyahu is likely to end the talks during that time, but religious Zionism is expected to drive a hard bargain for his support.
The polarizing Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, was ousted in 2021 after 12 consecutive years in power by an ideologically diverse coalition that included a small Arab party for the first time in Israel’s history. The coalition collapsed in the spring due to infighting.
Netanyahu is accused of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in a series of scandals involving wealthy partners and media moguls. He denies wrongdoing, seeing the trial as a witch hunt against him orchestrated by a hostile media and a biased judicial system.