After being in power for over a decade, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be losing his grip on the helm of leadership in Israel. Results from the repeat election held last week do not bode well for the sexagenarian.

The election was triggered by the Prime Minister’s inability to pull together a coalition after the country went to the polls in April this year.

Will Benny Gantz Topple King Bibi?

According to published results, Netanyahu’s main contender, Benny Gantz of the Blue and White Alliance, leads with 33 seats while Netanyahu’s Likud party follows with 31 seats.

Although both candidates fall short of the minimum 61 seats required to form an outright majority, Gantz appears to be the more likely next Prime Minister as the Joint List, who won 13 seats, have pledged their support for him.

The support of the Arab-led Joint List will not give Gantz and his Blue and White alliance a majority, but it will give him greater negotiating power over who gets the first chance to form a government.  

The leader of the Arab group, Ayman Odeh, said their support did not mean they were endorsing Mr Gantz and his polices. They merely wish to stop Benjamin Netanyahu from securing another term and to send a clear message that Israel’s future must include the full and equal participation of its Palestinian citizens.

Why So Many Divisions?

Ultra-Orthodox men in the Isreali community who choose to study the Jewish scriptures full-time are exempted from military service and the Israeli Supreme Court has ruled this practice unconstitutional due to its discriminatory nature.

However, the right-wing ultra-Orthodox parties that Netanyahu has a partnership with insist that the practice continues. Arab-led groups like the Joint List insist that Arab minorities must remain at the fore of policies. None of the leading candidates seems to have this on their agenda, most especially Netanyahu who has vowed to annex the West Bank if he comes back as Prime Minister.

Prime Minister Netanyahu has approached Benny Gantz for talks on a coalition while President Rivlin is currently consulting party leaders on whom he should ask to lead the country.

Summarily, he has said he will do everything he can to avoid a third general election in Israel this year.