Israeli PM Lapid concedes defeat; Benjamin Netanyahu set to become next Prime Minister
Jerusalem, Nov 3: Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid Thursday conceded defeat in the general elections and congratulated opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, whose coalition of right-wing parties secured a comfortable majority in parliament to form the next government and end the political impasse plaguing the country.
With 99 per cent of the ballots counted, Netanyahu-led right-wing bloc has taken a comfortable lead with 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset, paving way for his triumphant return.
Lapid, who has served as interim prime minister for the past four months, said that he called Netanyahu and congratulated him on his victory.
He further added that he's instructed all departments of the Prime Minister's Office to prepare for an orderly transfer of power.
"The State of Israel is above any political consideration," Lapid said in a tweet. "I wish Netanyahu luck for the sake of the people of Israel and the State of Israel."
Israelis voted on Tuesday for an unprecedented fifth time in four years to break the political impasse that has paralysed the Jewish nation.
According to the latest updates from the Central Elections Committee, Netanyahu's Likud party will receive 31 seats, Prime Minister Lapid's Yesh Atid 24, Religious Zionism 14, National Unity 12, Shas 11 and United Torah Judaism will have eight seats.
Among the smaller parties to have crossed the 3.25 per cent threshold required to qualify for the Knesset or parliament representation, Yisrael Beytenu will have six lawmakers, Ra'am is likely to win five seats along with Hadash-Ta'al. The Labour Party will win just four seats, according to the update.
The Left-wing Meretz party, which is hovering close to the threshold, seems to have slipped slightly even further from qualification.
Arab party Balad, which split from the broader coalition of the Arab parties to go independent, also seems to be failing the threshold mark.
The Netanyahu-led government would see a sharp drop in women in the coalition.
Current results project 9 female lawmakers in parties that back the former prime minister, with none among the ultra-Orthodox factions, according to the Times of Israel newspaper.
Based on these results, the likely Netanyahu-led coalition will have nine female lawmakers six in his Likud party and three from the far-right Religious Zionism, though the figure could end up rising through ministerial appointments.
The outcome marks a stunning comeback for Netanyahu, who is currently on trial in three corruption cases, after a short stint in opposition.
Israel has been locked in an unprecedented period of political stalemate since 2019, when Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving leader was charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
About 6.78 million Israeli citizens were eligible to elect their 25th Knesset.
Some 210,720 new voters were able to vote for the first time, accounting for about four to five seats, adding an interesting dimension to the polls.
Netanyahu's return to power is likely to see an upward trajectory in Indo-Israel ties.
An advocate of strong bilateral ties with India, Netanyahu was the second Israeli Prime Minister to visit India in January 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his historic visit to Israel, the first by an Indian Prime Minister, in July 2017 when the chemistry' between the two leaders became the subject of intense discussion.
India and Israel elevated their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership during Modi's visit to Israel. Since then, the relationship between the two countries has focused on expanding knowledge-based partnership, which includes collaboration in innovation and research, including boosting the 'Make in India' initiative.
India's relations with Israel have remained steady and strong even with the incumbent leadership, showing distinct signs of further progress with I2U2 (India, Israel, the United States and the United Arab Emirates) and discussions around a Free Trade Agreement, but it has not matched the heightened hype so visible with Netanyahu in power.
For many years, Netanyahu, Israel's longest serving premier, appeared to be politically invincible. But he met with a rude jolt in 2021 after being ousted by an unprecedented coalition of parties whose only common goal was to see his ouster.
Born in Tel Aviv in 1949, Netanyahu holds the record of being the longest-serving Prime Minister in the country's history.
Having served in the position earlier between 1996 and 1999, Netanyahu in 2020 surpassed the record held by one of the Jewish state's founding leaders, David Ben-Gurion.
שוחחתי הערב עם יו״ר האופוזיציה, בנימין נתניהו, ובירכתי אותו על נצחונו בבחירות. מדינת ישראל היא מעל לכל שיקול פוליטי ואני מאחל לנתניהו בהצלחה למען עם ישראל ומדינת ישראל. עדכנתי את יו"ר האופוזיציה שהנחיתי את כל זרועות משרד רה״מ להכין העברת שלטון מסודרת.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) November 3, 2022
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Israel launches first airstrike on Lebanon since ceasefire, accusing Hezbollah of breaching truce
Beirut, Nov 28: The Israeli military on Thursday said its warplanes fired on southern Lebanon after detecting Hezbollah activity at a rocket storage facility, the first Israeli airstrike a day after a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah took hold.
There was no immediate word on casualties from Israel's aerial attack, which came hours after the Israeli military said it fired on people trying to return to certain areas in southern Lebanon. Israel said they were violating the ceasefire agreement, without providing details. Lebanon's state-run National News Agency said two people were wounded.
The back-to-back incidents stirred unease about the agreement, brokered by the United States and France, which includes an initial two-month ceasefire in which Hezbollah members are to withdraw north of the Litani River and Israeli forces are to return to their side of the border. The buffer zone would be patrolled by Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers.
On Thursday, the second day of a ceasefire after more than a year of bloody conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon's state news agency reported that Israeli fire targeted civilians in Markaba, close to the border, without providing further details. Israel said it fired artillery in three other locations near the border. There were no immediate reports of casualties.
An Associated Press reporter in northern Israel near the border heard Israeli drones buzzing overhead and the sound of artillery strikes from the Lebanese side.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “several suspects were identified arriving with vehicles to a number of areas in southern Lebanon, breaching the conditions of the ceasefire.” It said troops “opened fire toward them” and would “actively enforce violations of the ceasefire agreement.”
Israeli officials have said forces will be withdrawn gradually as it ensures that the agreement is being enforced. Israel has warned people not to return to areas where troops are deployed, and says it reserves the right to strike Hezbollah if it violates the terms of the truce.
A Lebanese military official said Lebanese troops would gradually deploy in the south as Israeli troops withdraw. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief media.
The ceasefire agreement announced late Tuesday ended 14 months of conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that began a day after Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, when the Lebanese Hezbollah group began firing rockets, drones and missiles in solidarity.
Israel retaliated with airstrikes, and the conflict steadily intensified for nearly a year before boiling over into all-out war in mid-September. The war in Gaza is still raging with no end in sight.
More than 3,760 people were killed by Israeli fire in Lebanon during the conflict, many of them civilians, according to Lebanese health officials. The fighting killed more than 70 people in Israel — over half of them civilians — as well as dozens of Israeli soldiers fighting in southern Lebanon.
Some 1.2 million people were displaced in Lebanon, and thousands began streaming back to their homes on Wednesday despite warnings from the Lebanese military and the Israeli army to stay out of certain areas. Some 50,000 people were displaced on the Israeli side, but few have returned and the communities near the northern border are still largely deserted.
In Menara, an Israeli community on the border with views into Lebanon, around three quarters of homes are damaged, some with collapsed roofs and burnt-out interiors. A few residents could be seen gathering their belongings on Thursday before leaving again.
