The Israeli Election Commission announced Thursday evening the final official results of vote counting, which showed that the far-right camp led by Benjamin Netanyahu obtained a clear majority, allowing him to form a government.
The Elections Committee said that the far-right camp won 64 seats out of the 120 Knesset seats, compared to 51 seats for the Change Camp led by current Prime Minister Yair Lapid.
Lapid admitted his defeat, and made a phone call to Netanyahu congratulating him on his victory in the elections.
The current prime minister told the winning opposition leader that he had instructed his office to prepare for an orderly transition of power.
Israeli media said that Netanyahu had started contacts with right-wing parties to form the new government, and expected that it would be completed by the middle of this month.
official assignment
Next week, Israeli President Isaac Herzog is supposed to assign Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government within 42 days.
In the details of the results achieved by the far-right camp, the Likud led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won 32 seats, the “United Torah Judaism” party for Western Ashkenazi Jews and the “Shas” party for eastern Jews won 18 seats, while the “Religious Zionism” coalition led by each From Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, 14 seats.
As for the Change camp, Lapid's "There is a Future" party, the National Camp led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz won 12 seats, the United List 5 seats, the Front and Change Arab List 5 seats, and the Labor Party 4 seats.
According to the final results, the left-wing Meretz party and the Arab Democratic Gathering were unable to pass the threshold to enter the Knesset.
Itamar Ben Gvir, a settler, who participated in the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque repeatedly, had promised his supporters to form an entirely right-wing government led by Netanyahu, and demanded to take over the public security portfolio, a position that would make him responsible for the police.
His ally Smotrich is seeking to take over the defense ministry, an uncomfortable endeavor for Netanyahu, who has been keen to keep the job during his 15 years in power.