The suspense is over! Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has succeeded in achieving his long-awaited goal of securing the majority of his religious and far-right allies to return to the highest echelons of power, AFP reports.

Benjamin NetanyahuPhoto: Raphael Ben-Ari / Alamy / Profimedia Images

Despite a corruption trial, Netanyahu and his allies from the ultra-Orthodox and far-right “religious Zionist” parties won 64 of the 120 seats in the Knesset (parliament), three more than the threshold, the election commission announced Thursday night.

Shortly before that, Prime Minister Yair Lapid, who ousted Netanyahu from power last year by forming a coalition of right, center, left and Arab parties that has since collapsed, contacted his rival to congratulate him on his parliamentary victory. elections on Tuesday.

“Prime Minister Lapid congratulated Mr. Netanyahu on his election victory and informed the opposition leader that he had given instructions to prepare an orderly transition,” his spokesman said in a statement.

“The State of Israel is above all political considerations. I wish Netanyahu success for the sake of the Israeli people and the State of Israel,” Lapid said.

According to the election commission, Netanyahu’s “right-wing bloc” won 64 seats – 32 for his Likud party, 18 for two Orthodox parties and a record 14 for the far-right – in a government that analysts say could be the most right-wing. in the country’s history.

Lapid’s centrist party Yesh Atid (“There is a future”) won 24 deputies, his center-right ally Benny Gantz got 12, followed by 10 from two other parties and five from the Arab Raham party, which also supported his coalition. only 51 deputies.

The Arab party Hadash-Taal received 5 deputies.

Immediately after the announcement of the results, a rocket was fired from Gaza at Israel

A rocket from the Gaza Strip was fired Thursday evening toward Israeli territory before being intercepted by a missile defense system, the Israeli military said in a statement.

The rocket, the first since hostilities began in August between the Israeli army and Islamic Jihad in the Gaza Strip, was launched shortly after the announcement of the results of Israeli parliamentary elections in which former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won.

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