Israel Elections 2022

MIDDLE ISRAEL: Activist, rabble-rouser and lawyer Itamar Ben-Gvir, is the politician who outsmarted Benjamin Netanyahu himself.

INSIDE POLITICS: After Bennett’s prime ministerial hubris destroyed his party and brought down the coalition, Lapid’s same pride and boastfulness led his camp to what many consider its doomsday.

POLITICAL AFFAIRS: The anti-Netanyahu bloc has three people to blame: Yair Lapid, Transportation Minister Merav Michaeli and Balad leader MK Sami Abou Shahadeh.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS: The question is whether Netanyahu will be able to keep his coalition partners – the Religious Zionist Party, Shas and UTJ – in order.

Baharav-Miara believes now that Netanyahu has secured his return to power, that he might return to a relative position of respecting the legal establishment.

Labor won only four seats in the new government with its sister party Meretz falling below the threshold.

So what does Itamar Ben-Gvir, the most colorful and controversial senior Israeli politician, plan to do if he actually joins a Benjamin Netanyahu-led coalition?

For Netanyahu, Shas and UTJ are dream coalition partners. The Religious Zionist Party, featuring Itamar Ben-Gvir, is an Israeli diplomatic nightmare.

On Wednesday night, Meretz was placed just below the threshold of 3.25%, and the Likud led with 32 seats.

Officials have loudly criticized the Shin Bet and the IDF in the past for cracking down on Jewish settler violence against the Palestinians.