Netanyahu within one or two seats of forming ruling majority, left-wing MKs expected to defect
(Worthy News) – With 92% of the vote counted Tuesday from unprecedented third elections in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing bloc were slated to beat rival Benny Gantz and the Blue and White party with 59 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
The number of seats obtained by the “hermetic” coalition of Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, and Yamina, according to Likud spokesman Yonatan Urich, would place Netanyahu within easy reach of forming a governing majority with the help of one or two defecting left-wing MKs.
“All I can say is that there are more than one or two options,” he told Israel’s Channel 13 news. “At the end of the day, whoever decides to prevent a fourth round of elections and take part in forming a government will not be seen as a traitor.”
Left-wing MKs questioned about the possibility of deserting to the right-wing bloc to give Netanyahu enough seats to form a ruling coalition vociferously denied anything but total solidarity with Blue and White.