Netanyahu Loses Parliamentary Majority, But No Other Party is Certain

Oct 28 (Jowhar)-Israel has awakened as the election results appear, according to the paper, to be a verdict on Benjamin Netanyahu — yet it has not reached the level of strong opposition that the opposing sides expected.

If the current predictions hold true, Netanyahu's Likud party will remain the largest party in the next parliament (Knesset), although it has lost seats ranging from five to eight.

On the other hand, the opposition — known inside Israel as the "change coalition" — seems to be close to matching the power of the right-wing coalition led by Netanyahu.

Gadi Eisenkot, for his part, had a disappointing night: his Yashar party aimed to be the most voted, which would give it full power to lead the coalition government formation talks.

Eisenkot has warned several times that Netanyahu wants the result to be a tie, and he urged voters to ensure that the Yashar party secures the top position.

The current numbers indicate that this goal will not be achieved.

Benjamin Netanyahu has avoided a major loss by strongly leaning his campaign towards the far right.

Few politicians have influenced the modern era of Israel like Netanyahu, who has been the most influential figure in national politics over the past three years, having served as Prime Minister three different times.

As a seasoned strategist known for surviving tough political situations, he has built his career on bouncing back during times when his adversaries thought he was finished — and it is not said that he is finished until someone else is officially sworn in.

However, the overall picture is clearly emerging when reviewing the situation by looking at two sides: the far right and the Arab parties in Israel.

Netanyahu has now reduced the losses by strongly directing his campaign towards the far right.

During the election, he made efforts to ensure that they did not outpace the far-right groups, which have shared power in the government for the past four years.