Israeli elections took place on November 1, and it appears that Benjamin Netanyahu is on his way back to the Prime Minister's office. Polls leading up to the elections showed another possible deadlock, with no parties able to form a majority governing coalition, but that was not the case last Tuesday, as Israelis overwhelmingly voted for right-wing parties. The results show Israel’s right wing parties sitting at 64 seats—a solid majority.

Winners and losers of the election

It finally looks like the Israeli government is at the end of an era of instability after five elections in four years. In the past four elections, parties either failed to create a governing coalition, or the ones they did create were a fragile assortment of competing interests and ideologies.

Results show Netanyahu's bloc with 64 seats. 61 are needed for a majority.

This time around, caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s left-wing party suffered a major defeat, and right wing parties emerged triumphant. Other left-wing parties, like the radical Meretz, and Arab Balad, failed to even cross the electoral threshold.

Winning parties are the Likud—led by Netanyahu—Religious Zionist, and Haredi (ultra-orthodox) parties Shas and United Torah Judaism.

The days ahead

Netanyahu has announced his intention to move ahead quickly in negotiations with other parties to form a government. If all goes well, Netanyahu and the new government could be ready to take the reins in a matter of weeks.

Itamar Ben Gvir is the leader of Otzma Yehudit, a major faction of the Religious Zionist party. He became one of the central personalities of this election cycle. Here he is surrounded by supporters in Hebron, a few weeks before elections. (© Blessed Buy Israel)

What do the results mean for Israeli sovereignty?

Central to the political discussion in Israel is the topic of Sovereignty. This means the application of Israeli law to Judea and Samaria (Also known as the West Bank), like Israel did with the Golan Heights in 1981. Right now, the biblical heartland operates under military rule, which means a lengthy building approval process and arbitrary law enforcement, among other burdens. This severely hampers growth of Jewish communities, while illegal Arab building moves full speed ahead. Ambiguity on Judea and Samaria also leads to an increase in terror, as Israel's enemies take advantage of perceived weaknesses.

Perhaps worst of all, lack of sovereignty means the future of Judea and Samaria is seen as hanging in the balance—with the view that beautiful communities could one day be uprooted and destroyed to make way for a Palestinian State.

Perhaps worst of all, lack of sovereignty means the future of Judea and Samaria is seen as hanging in the balance—with the view that beautiful communities could one day be uprooted and destroyed to make way for a Palestinian State.

In a major victory for proponents of Israeli Sovereignty, the Religious Zionist party, won big on Tuesday, securing 14 seats, and is poised to become the third largest party in the Knesset (Israel’s government). One of the main pillars of the Religious Zionist party is possessing all the Land of Israel. Netanyahu’s Likud party also has significant factions pushing for sovereignty, which is a good sign for the movement overall—having a large part of the government centered around the issue.

But sovereignty is really about more than just Judea and Samaria, as it relates to the Jewish identity and security of Israel as a whole. Jewish sovereignty is threatened in Jerusalem when terror attacks go largely unchecked and when foreign governments—the United States included—dispute Israel’s right to its eternal capital. It’s threatened in other parts of Israel, when a blind eye is turned to illegal building and crime. On November 1st, voters rejected a weak government made up of compromising parties as well as Ra’am, an antizionist, Islamic party. Another notable problem with Israel’s government is represented by caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid’s consistent support of the “two-state solution.”

Reasserting Israeli sovereignty means responding decisively to any and all threats to the Jewish State. And it’s exactly what parties emerging victorious this week have made a priority of in their campaigns.

Conclusion

Lovers of the biblical heartland are justifiably jubilant and optimistic following Israel’s elections. Israel’s right wing came out on top in a big way, and hopes are it will bring stability and strength to a nation that has been in political turmoil since late 2018, when the cycle of instability and snap elections began. The challenges Israel faces today are numerous—an uptick in terrorist attacks, the Iranian threat, illegal construction, cost of living, among others—but it seems a strong government willing to meet these challenges head-on is about to enter the scene.