Netanyahu on brink of victory with far-right allies by his side

Shift Could Put Israel US On Rocky Road, Dim Hope For Palestine Peace

Tel Aviv: Former Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu appeared headed towards victory on Wednesday, with 85% of the ballots from national elections counted and showing that voters gave him and his far-right allies what looks like a majority in the country’s parliament.

Votes were still being counted and results were not final. But if preliminary indications were correct, Israel was potentially headed to its most rightwing government, bolstered by a strong showing from the ultranationalist Religious Zionism party. Final results are expected on Friday. The initial results pointed to a continued rightward shift in the Israeli electorate, further dimming hopes for peace with the Palestinians and setting the stage for possible conflict with the Biden administration and Israel’s supporters in the US.

The early results also showed that Netanyahu had overcome his detractors, who claimed he was not fit to rule while on trial for corruption.“We are on the verge of a very big victory,” Netanyahu, 73, told supporters at a gathering in Jerusalem on Wednesday. “I will establish a nationalist government that will see to all Israeli citizens without any exceptions.”