IM Issue 142 – April 2020
Netanyahu, and Israel, at an Impasse
Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu almost- but not did quite- win the country’s third national elections within a year. Exit polls just after the end of voting showed the right wing, nationalist, and religious parties with 60 seats in the Knesset, just shy of a 60-seat majority. Nevertheless, Netanyahu and his allies claimed a stunning victory, and speculation was rife in Israeli media that a conservative candidate from a left-wing party could be induced to jump ship and join the rightwing bloc to enable the formation of a government.