MIGA

Netanyahu: ‘We’ll Return Israel to Its Place as a Rising Power Among the Nations’

Firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir says new government will bring security to all, says “everyone’s asking for real change,” in swipe at outgoing “government of change.”

 

JNS

November 2, 2022

 

 

Firebrand Itamar Ben-Gvir, likely to be police minister in Netanyahu government, celebrates his party's strong electoral showing. 

 

Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu early on Wednesday hailed his right-wing/religious bloc’s apparent election victory and thanked his supporters for their “magnificent expression of faith.”

“It’s become clear once again that the Likud is the largest party in Israel, above all the other parties by a wide margin,” the Likud leader said.

However, even as he celebrated with his supporters, who chanted “Long live King Bibi,” “the nation of Israel lives” and “sovereignty, sovereignty,” Netanyahu cautioned that they must wait for the “true results.”

With 85% of the vote counted, Netanyahu’s bloc will have 65 Knesset seats (61 is the minimum required for a parliamentary majority in the 120-seat Knesset), but the official results may not be released until Friday afternoon.

Regardless, said Netanyahu, “One thing is clear—our way, the way of the Likud—proved itself. I remind you that from 52 mandates in the last election, we are on the threshold of a very great victory.”

The nation, he continued, “wants another way. It wants security. It wants to lower the cost of living. It wants strength. It doesn’t want shame. It doesn’t want to lower its head. It wants an upright stance. It wants political understanding, but with firmness.”

He added: “You know what else it wants? To return the national pride that was taken from us. And this we’ll bring as well.”

Israelis wanted leadership that would worry about the country’s soldiers and wouldn’t “sacrifice lives for nothing,” he said, one that would operate out of “concern for every citizen, every soldier and … every mother and father that places in our hands their sons and daughters.”

He vowed to restore security, lower the cost of living, “expand the circle of peace” and “return Israel to its place as a rising power among the nations.”

Israeli President Isaac Herzog will designate a candidate to form a government by Nov. 8, and based on the exit polls, that candidate will likely be Netanyahu. The Likud leader, who served in the role from 1996-1999 and again from 2009-2021, will then have four weeks to form a coalition, with the possibility of a two-week extension.

A fresh focus on security

Also scoring a big victory was firebrand lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, who hailed the strong showing by his Religious Zionism Party in Tuesday’s Knesset elections, with the faction winning 14 seats according to the current vote count.

Ben-Gvir, the head of the Otzma Yehudit party, ran on a joint list together with Religious Zionism leader Bezalel Smotrich.

While Ben-Gvir cautioned against celebrating too early, he described his election performance as a “huge achievement.”

He stressed security in his victory speech, stating that his party represents every sector of society. “All of them are asking for a real change. They’re asking to go safely in the streets. They’re asking not to tie the hands of our soldiers and our policemen,” said Ben-Gvir.

The security situation in Israel has deteriorated in recent months. On Election Day, a Jewish woman in Tiberias narrowly escaped an attempted kidnapping by an Arab man. On Sunday, five Israeli soldiers were wounded in a terror attack in the Jordan Valley.

“We shall act against those who throw Molotov cocktails or stones and put at risk prison guards, women and do everything to jeopardize the system,” Ben-Gvir said Tuesday night.

“It’s about time that the soldiers of the IDF and the policemen get support and backing,” he added. “It’s about time we go back to being the owners of this country.”