AP Analysis: Bolstered by his election victory, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu can be expected to press ahead with a hard-line agenda that will likely eliminate the last hopes of a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu waves to his supporters after polls for Israel's general elections closed in Tel Aviv, Israel, Wednesday, April 10, 2019.
Netanyahu, himself a secular, U.S.-educated millionaire with a propensity for cognac and cigars, has nonetheless aligned himself with downtrodden Jewish Israelis with whom he would seem to have little in common. Portraying himself as a victim of the country’s “elites,” Netanyahu is seen as their hero.
But given a chance to change things in Tuesday’s election, residents of Sderot voted overwhelmingly for Netanyahu’s Likud party and its religious and nationalist allies. In contrast, Blue and White, led by former military chief Benny Gantz, coasted to victory in Tel Aviv, the country’s prosperous commercial and cultural center, as well as the nearby suburbs that are home to a more professional and affluent population.
Gantz’s rally looked like a celebration. Netanyahu’s felt like a sporting event, with the whipped-up crowd whooping and hollering as if it were at a soccer match. Where Gantz’s supporters were excited, Netanyahu’s supporters — many wearing Jewish skullcaps and dancing to Mizrahi pop music — were ecstatic. His speech included a Jewish prayer and a Trump-like swipe at the “hostile” media.
Netanyahu veered sharply to the right on the campaign trail to shore up support of his base, promising to begin annexing West Bank settlements if re-elected. Netanyahu’s allies will try to hold him at his word.
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