Israel Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu on his election win as final results confirmed the former premier's triumphant comeback at the head of a solidly right-wing alliance, APA reports quoting Reuters.
Netanyahu's victory is set to end an unprecedented stalemate in Israel after five elections in less than four years.
This time Netanyahu, the dominant Israeli politician of his generation, won a clear parliamentary majority, boosted by ultranationalist and religious parties.
Israeli media, citing political sources, said the new government may be clinched by mid-month. Previous coalitions in recent years have had narrower parliamentary majorities that made them vulnerable to no-confidence motions.
With coalition building talks yet to officially begin, it was still unclear what position Ben-Gvir might hold in a future government. Since the election, both he and Netanyahu have pledged to serve all citizens.
But Ben-Gvir's ascendancy has stirred alarm among the 21% Arab minority and centre-left Jews - and especially among Palestinians whose U.S.-sponsored statehood talks with Israel broke down in 2014.
While Washington has publicly reserved judgment pending the new Israeli coalition's formation, a U.S. State Department spokesman on Wednesday emphasised the countries' "shared values".
"We hope that all Israeli government officials will continue to share the values of an open, democratic society, including tolerance and respect for all in civil society, particularly for minority groups," the spokesperson said.
U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides said he spoke with Netanyahu and told him he looked forward to "working together to maintain the unbreakable bond."
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
