Free Republic

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is suddenly the favorite to mount a comeback after current Prime Minister Naftali Bennett lost the majority he needs to hold his coalition together with a key defection on Wednesday. Israel’s government looked set to crumble Wednesday after coalition whip Idit Silman announced she is quitting to form a new government, causing the ruling coalition headed by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett to lose its majority. … Silman, who is a member of Knesset in Bennett’s Yamina party, chose to defect after she clashed with Israel’s Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz over his order to hospitals...

JERUSALEM - A key member of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's Yamina party said Wednesday she was quitting his coalition government, in a surprise move that leaves him without a parliamentary majority. Idit Silman's announcement left Bennett's coalition, an alliance of parties ranging from the Jewish right and Israeli doves to an Arab Muslim party, with 60 seats -- the same as the opposition. Although Silman's defection does not mean the fall of the coalition, it raises the spectre of a potential return to office by veteran leader Benjamin Netanyahu, less than a year after he lost the premiership to...

It appeared to be a big win for the Likud Party and their long-time leader, Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister announced early that it appeared his coalition had won big based on the early results. But in a shift that mirrored the United States elections, his apparent big win got smaller and smaller until now, with 97% of the votes counted, it appears he fell short of securing a majority.Most exit polls show his right-wing bloc will end up with 59 Knesset seats, two short of a majority. Meanwhile, the anti-Netanyahu bloc also fell short with 56 seats projected....

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is heading toward a narrow victory if current exit polls hold and he is able to form a coalition as anticipated. To maintain power, Netanyahu will have to secure a majority of the 120 seats in the Knesset. All three of the exit polls taken after the election indicate that he should have just that, with 61 seats. This assumes the further right Yamina Party will join his government. The party’s leader, Naftali Bennett, previously indicated he was open to joining a coalition government with either political bloc, so this should not be an insurmountable...