Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a victory speech to supporters of his Likud Party in the wee hours of Tuesday morning after his stunning, come-from-behind victory in Israel’s third successive elections.
Netanyahu came onstage singing his party song, and thanked his supporters for their hard work in securing the win.
“I remember our first victory in 1996. It was an historic victory,” Netanyahu said, in Hebrew. “But this victory, this time, is at least as sweet, if not sweeter. An even greater victory! Because it was a victory against all the odds.”
Netanyahu had trailed in polls until the final days, and still faces criminal indictment on corruption charges (which his supporters claim are baseless and politically motivated).
But voters rallied to his side for a variety of factors.
Breaking: Execution of TN Woman Goes Bad: 2 Lethal Injections Leave Subject Snoring, Very Much Alive
10 Democrat-held House seats Republicans could flip to save their majority
Trump’s new high-tech government hub holds some bizarre surprises: ‘Enjoy finding them’
Breaking: Israel Says Hijacker ‘Underwent Islamist Radical Indoctrination’ Before Trying to Crash Plane of Jews
National Guard deployment tallies up $49 million in food costs alone
Man Who Took Explosives to Mass for SCOTUS Justices Gets Mindboggling Sentence Thanks to Obama Judge
Loyal dog fetches police to help owner who fell at Kansas home
Sotomayor denies mom’s bid to get son into elite NYC school amid racial discrimination fight
Ranchers are furious about diesel prices and beef imports. Could it cost Republicans a Senate seat in Kansas?
Biden DOJ Senior Prosecutor Hit with Criminal Referral Amid ‘Troubling if True’ Allegations
Christa Pike was set to be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in 200 years before botched attempts: What to know
Former Arizona fraternity leader sentenced to jail time after pledge dies in off-campus hazing
FAA breaks controller hiring record after chief warned system was ‘chronically understaffed’
Biden-era federal prosecutor hit with criminal investigation referral over alleged false statements to FBI
States leading nation on the biggest education battles gripping classrooms revealed in first-ever report
One may have been the indirect influence of American politics. Israeli voters watching Democrats choose Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as their frontrunner may have been convinced to stick with their tough-minded leader. Netanyahu came to power in 2009 promising to oppose pressure from then-newly-elected President Barack Obama.
Netanyahu cited his record. “Do you know why [voters] put faith in us?” he asked. “Because they know that we brought the greatest decade in the history of the State of Israel.”
He talked about the country’s economic progress — which defied the recession that gripped much of the rest of the world — saying Israel had become “a country that is good to live in,” in terms of quality of life.
He also cited his good relationships with foreign leaders — not just with President Donald Trump, but also with Muslim nations.
One supporter waved a “Trump 2020: Keep America Great” prominently at the Likud victory party.
Breaking: Execution of TN Woman Goes Bad: 2 Lethal Injections Leave Subject Snoring, Very Much Alive
10 Democrat-held House seats Republicans could flip to save their majority
Trump’s new high-tech government hub holds some bizarre surprises: ‘Enjoy finding them’
Breaking: Israel Says Hijacker ‘Underwent Islamist Radical Indoctrination’ Before Trying to Crash Plane of Jews
National Guard deployment tallies up $49 million in food costs alone
Man Who Took Explosives to Mass for SCOTUS Justices Gets Mindboggling Sentence Thanks to Obama Judge
Loyal dog fetches police to help owner who fell at Kansas home
Sotomayor denies mom’s bid to get son into elite NYC school amid racial discrimination fight
Ranchers are furious about diesel prices and beef imports. Could it cost Republicans a Senate seat in Kansas?
Biden DOJ Senior Prosecutor Hit with Criminal Referral Amid ‘Troubling if True’ Allegations
Christa Pike was set to be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in 200 years before botched attempts: What to know
Former Arizona fraternity leader sentenced to jail time after pledge dies in off-campus hazing
FAA breaks controller hiring record after chief warned system was ‘chronically understaffed’
Biden-era federal prosecutor hit with criminal investigation referral over alleged false statements to FBI
States leading nation on the biggest education battles gripping classrooms revealed in first-ever report
Exit polls projected that Likud had won roughly 36 or 37 seats in Israel’s 120-seat Knesset, nearly enough to form a governing majority with small conservative parties. The opposition Blue and White was projected to win 33 or 33.
Though it was not clear whether Netanyahu would have enough seats to reach a coalition of 61, it was presumed that he would be able to do so — and without the help of a smaller spoiler party that had stymied him twice before.
The vote-counting process is expected to take more than 48 hours, with final results only determined by Thursday morning.
“The time has come to end the cycle of elections and to establish a government in Israel!” Netanyahu concluded.
Story cited here.
