The region braces itself for war. Just in time it seems, as Israel ramps up its attacks on neighboring Syria, and the occupied territories in Palestine.
TEL AVIV — Israel’s former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing allies have won at least 61 seats, just enough to form a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, according to preliminary exit polls released Tuesday night, marking a potential end to an extended political crisis that has the left the country in stasis for much of the past four years.
Israelis voted on Tuesday for the fifth time in less than four years in a contest widely seen as referendum on Netanyahu, who has been outside of the ruling coalition for the past year and plotting his return to power.
In the summer, the “change government” — a coalition of ideologically disparate parties united solely by the desire to oust Netanyahu — dissolved after just one year in office, following a cascade of defections by coalition members.
Now Netanyahu is angling to return as prime minister, which could give him more legal leverage in his ongoing corruption trial. He has falsely claimed that the trial is a “witch hunt” orchestrated by the Israeli left.
Amid reports of high turnout Tuesday, Netanyahu filmed an “emergency broadcast” with his entourage while on his way to an event in the southern city of Ashkelon, warning of a “large arrival of voters in left-wing bastions.”…
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READ MORE ISRAEL NEWS AT: 21st Century Wire Israeli Files
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