Netanyahu starts talks on forming govt
Veteran hawk Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday launched negotiations with his ultra-Orthodox and far-right allies on forming what could be the most right-wing government in Israel's history, raising concerns at home and abroad.
Netanyahu's Likud party won 32 seats in Israel's 120-seat parliament, the Knesset, according to the latest official results of the election released on Thursday night.
That combined with 18 for two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and 14 for the rising extreme-right alliance called Religious Zionism gave the right-wing bloc supporting Netanyahu 64 seats.
The centrist bloc of outgoing prime minister Yair Lapid won 51 seats, marking a definitive win for Netanyahu and an end to Israel's unprecedented era of political deadlock, which forced five elections in less than four years. That will likely mean prominent roles for the co-leaders of far-right Religious Zionism.
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