Prime Minister Yair Lapid of Israel conceded Israel’s election on Thursday evening to Benjamin Netanyahu, paving the way for Israel’s Opposition leader to return as Prime Minister at the helm of one of the most Right-wing governments in Israeli history.

With almost all votes counted, Netanyahu’s Rightwing bloc was projected by the country’s broadcasters to win a clear majority in parliament, ensuring that Israel, after five elections in less than four years, will have a cohesive government with a steady majority for the first time since 2019.

The far Right’s strong showing was linked to fears among Right-wing Jews about perceived threats to Israel’s Jewish identity and to their personal safety. A wave of inter-ethnic riots in May 2021 unsettled their sense of security, a feeling that was compounded months later by the inclusion — for the first time in Israeli history — of an Arab party in the coalition government.

Those dual concerns drove some Right-wing Israelis to more extreme parties in the most recent election.

Although the coalition led by Netanyahu would provide a stable government, it would nevertheless unsettle Israel’s constitutional framework and social fabric. Currently standing trial on corruption charges, Netanyahu says that he will not use his authority to upend that process.

But some of his coalition partners have said they will push to legalise one of the crimes he is accused of committing or even to end the trial. His return would also test some of Israel’s diplomatic relations, most notably with the US and the Persian Gulf states with which Israel recently formed alliances.

Netanyahu himself oversaw the creation of those alliances during his last spell in office. But his new coalition allies’ priorities are likely to heighten tensions with the Palestinians.

These tensions underscore the complexity of Netanyahu’s return: As Israel’s longest-serving Prime Minister, he is a known quantity who has defined contemporary Israeli society perhaps more than any other politician. But his decision to ally with the far Right, untrammelled by any Centrist or Leftist forces, takes Israel into the unknown.

Netanyahu’s far-Right allies want to weaken and overhaul Israel’s justice system, giving politicians more control of judicial appointments and loosening the Supreme Court’s oversight of the parliamentary process.

New York Times News Service