THE just-concluded election in Israel has captured global attention after neither of the ruling or opposition blocs secured the required majority to take over the reins of government.
The coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party won 54 seats, and the motley group of parties that make up the opposition secured 49 seats, both short of the 61 required to control the Knesset, Israel’s parliament.
The election is a landmark one for Israel. The 77-percent turnout was the highest since 1999. It highlights the deep ideological divide that has grown even deeper after Israeli forces launched a massive offensive against Hamas in Gaza in 2023.
It also marked the first time Israel’s Arabs, who make up about 21 percent of the population, voted in record numbers.
The deadlock in the Knesset has plunged the country into a political limbo at a time when the Middle East is in the midst of a major security crisis.
With no clear winner in the election, Netanyahu will act as caretaker prime minister, while President Isaac Herzog tries to persuade Knesset leaders to form a ruling coalition to avoid having another election.
Many analysts see the vote as a referendum on Netanyahu’s performance as Israel’s longest-reigning leader (he has served as prime minister for three separate terms, spanning 19 cumulative years).
He has survived one political crisis after another, but the last election’s result exposed a growing sentiment among Israelis to hold Netanyahu accountable for the intelligence lapse that allowed Hamas fighters from Gaza to unleash a wave of murderous attacks on Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, 2023.
Relatives of the hostages held by Hamas also blamed Netanyahu for lacking the resolve to negotiate their early release.
But hands down, the biggest take on the last election is the rise of an Arab bloc in the Knesset, something that few observers had foreseen. With a lock on possible 17 seats, the Arab parties hold the key to breaking the deadlock.
But neither the ruling bloc nor the opposition is willing to welcome the Arabs to its fold. The Likud party has kept the Arab parties at arm’s length, accusing them of resorting to “serious criminal offenses of bribery, threat, violence, forgeries and the use of prohibited software to mobilize voters.”
The opposition is equally suspicious. Its leader, Gadi Eisenkot, demands that any potential ally must recognize Israel as a Jewish state and renounce Hamas as a terrorist organization that must be destroyed.
With no one willing to embrace the Arabs as an ally, forming a unity government becomes more difficult. That is unfortunate. Israel needs a leadership that could steer the country through the region’s turbulent straits.
Just days before the vote, Netanyahu shared an artificial intelligence-generated image of a nuclear mushroom cloud over Tel Aviv to highlight the threat posed by Iran. The post further stoked fears that Iranian missiles and drones have penetrated the shield provided by the Iron Dome, Israel’s vaunted anti-missile system.
Estimates of Israelis injured in Iranian aerial bombardments range from 7,000 to 8,000. Between 26 and 35 fatalities have been officially recorded.
Israelis want an assurance from their leaders that they remain generally safe from Iranian attacks.
The inconclusive election should also be a cause for concern for Philippine officials. In September, the Philippine delegation joined the walkout just as Netanyahu was to address the UN General Assembly, “in global solidarity for peace in the Middle East and the call for all parties to desist from unilateral actions that erode the conditions for peace and undermine the visibility of a future Palestine state.”
A change in leadership could impact on the thousands of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Israel. Any shift in domestic policy could affect OFWs, especially those living and working in the West Bank.
The Philippines has an ongoing deployment ban on West Bank-bound workers, because of the area’s volatile political climate, with only returning workers with preexisting contracts allowed to reenter.
There could also be realignments on defense and intelligence cooperation between Manila and Jerusalem, as well.
A clearer posture can develop only after a new government emerges from the standoff. Until then, everything is up in the air.
