Israeli elections: Netanyahu and Gantz on the right track

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EPA

According to local media, Israel's general elections are going well and all votes will be counted.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and the blue-and-white centrist alliance are expected to win 35 seats each with the highest number of votes.

The result gives Mr. Netanyahu a solid position to form a right-wing coalition government.

No party has ever won a majority in the Israeli parliament of 120 seats and it has always had coalition governments.

Polls at the polls predicted a tight race with no clear winner, prompting Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz to win Tuesday night.

But the success of the other right-wing parties seems to have put Mr. Netanyahu in the lead position to form a coalition and win an unprecedented fifth term.

This would allow him to double the founding father of Israel David Ben Gurion to the post of prime minister for a long time.

What is the background?

Netanyahu, 69, presented tough messages on security before the vote and it quickly became one of the key issues in the elections.

He also made an important announcement in the final days of the campaign, suggesting that a new government would annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Settlements are considered illegal under international law, although Israel disputes this.

Mr. Netanyahu also faces allegations of corruption that he denies. He claims to be the victim of a "witch hunt" policy intended to influence the election.

In another controversy on Tuesday, Israeli Arab politicians condemned his party, the Likud, for sending 1,200 observers with hidden cameras to the bodies in the polling stations of Arab communities.

Hadash-Taal, the Arab alliance, said it was "illegal" action to intimidate the Arabs. The Likud said that he wanted to make sure that only "valid votes" were cast.

Mr. Netanyahu's main opponent, Mr. Gantz, is a retired lieutenant-general who formed the Blue and White in February, promising to unite a country that had "gone astray".

The 59-year-old former Israeli army chief of staff competed with Mr. Netanyahu's tough stance on security and promised a cleaner policy.

Mr. Gantz's campaign platform referred to the "separation" of Palestinians, but did not specifically mention that they had an independent state. He also called for continued control of the Jordan Valley and the maintenance of settlement blocs in the West Bank.