Netanyahu block wins clear victory

With 86% of the votes in Tuesday’s Knesset election counted, the block led by Benjamin Netanyahu has 65 seats, and Meretz is out.

Update 16.00: With 86% of the votes cast in the general election held in Israel yesterday counted, the interim result is a large majority for the right-wing block led by Benjamin Netanyahu. At this point, the block comprising Likud, Religious Zionism-Otzma Yehudit, Shas, and United Torah Judaism has 65 of the Knesset’s 120 seats, while Meretz and Balad are below the 3.25% minimum share of the vote required to receive Knesset representation. In the up-to-date count, Meretz is at about 3.2%, while Balad is just above 3%. The exit polls published shortly after voting ended at 10 pm yesterday evening indicated that Meretz would exceed the threshold, with Balad very close to it.

According to the latest figures, the distribution of seats in the Knesset will be as follows:

Likud 32
Yesh Atid 24
Religious Zionism-Otzma Yehudit 14
Hamahaneh Hamamlachti 12
Shas 11
United Torah Judaism 8
Yisrael Beitenu 5
Labor 4
Ra’am 5
Hadash-Ta’al 5
Meretz 0
Balad 0
Habayit Hayehudi 0

The big news of the election is the emergence of Religious Zionism-Otzma Yehudit, led by Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, as a major political force, while Shas, led by Aryeh Deri, has made a more impressive showing than opinion polls predicted leading up to the election. On the other end of the scale, Ayelet Shaked, the leader of Habayit Hayehudi and currently minister of the interior, and who had been seen as a rising star in Israeli politics, faces an unclear future.

Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on November 2, 2022.

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