Jerusalem: Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid called on opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday and congratulated him on his election victory, as his coalition of right-wing parties secured a comfortable majority in parliament. With 99 per cent of the votes counted, the right-wing faction led by Netanyahu is comfortably ahead with 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset, paving the way for his triumphant return.
Lapid told Netanyahu that he had instructed all departments of the Prime Minister’s Office to prepare for an orderly transfer of power.
“The State of Israel is above any political consideration,” Lapid said in a tweet. “I wish Netanyahu all the best for the people of Israel and the State of Israel.”
Israel on Tuesday voted for an unprecedented fifth time in four years to break the political deadlock that has crippled the Jewish nation.
According to the latest update from the Central Election Committee, Netanyahu’s Likud party will get 31 seats, Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid 24, Religious Judaism 14, National Unity 12, Shas 11 and United Torah Judaism eight seats.
For many years, Netanyahu appeared to be politically invincible. But he was dealt a hard blow in 2021 after he was ousted by an unprecedented coalition of parties whose only common goal was to oust him.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1949, Netanyahu holds the record for being the longest-serving prime minister in the country’s history.
After serving in the first position between 1996 and 1999, Netanyahu surpassed the record held in 2020 by David Ben-Gurion, one of the founding leaders of the Jewish state.