ISRAEL’S POLITICAL DEADLOCK PUTS FUTURE OF NETANYAHU’S FAR-RIGHT ALLIES UNDER SCRUTINY
Israel’s October 27 election has left the future of far-right ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir uncertain as opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot attempts to form a government capable of replacing Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu’s bloc won 53 seats, short of the 61 required for a majority, while Eisenkot’s four-party alliance secured 48 and Arab-led parties won a record 19. Ben-Gvir’s Otzma Yehudit retained seven seats and Smotrich’s Religious Zionism-Zehut won six, ensuring both remain important figures on Israel’s nationalist right even if they lose their cabinet positions. President Isaac Herzog has given Eisenkot the first mandate to form a government, but significant disagreements over Arab-party support, ultra-Orthodox military exemptions and possible cooperation with Netanyahu leave the outcome unresolved.