Netanyahu wins chance to be Israeli prime minister once again

(Image credit: RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)

published 3 November 2022

Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won another shot at leading the country after his right-wing bloc secured a majority of the seats in Parliament. This was Israel's fifth election in four years.

Netanyahu's bloc won 64 of the 120 seats in the Knesset, Israel's Parliament. His party, Likud, became the largest, garnering 32 seats, reports The Wall Street Journal. Current Prime Minister Yair Lapid's centrist party Atid won 24 seats, making it the second largest. Following his victory, Netanyahu said, "Together, we brought about a huge victory for the State of Israel."

This election was also a victory for Israel's far right. Netanyahu got support from far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, who also heads a national religious alliance, which won 14 seats in the Knesset and became the third-largest party. Ben-Gvir is an ultranationalist and has opposed Palestinian autonomy, reports The New York Times. "The time has come for us to be the landlords of our country," he said in a speech following the election.

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Devika Rao has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022, covering science, the environment, climate and business. She previously worked as a policy associate for a nonprofit organization advocating for environmental action from a business perspective.

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