Israel's Political Crisis Deepened by Most Recent Stalemate

Following Israel's fourth election in two years, final results have indicated a stalemate, in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not able to secure a parliamentary majority. Netanyahu's coalition of right-wing, religious parties was only able to secure fifty-two parliamentary seats, nine short of the needed majority (Kingsley 2021). The remaining fifty-seven seats were split between centrist, left-wing, right-wing, and Arab opposition parties (Kingsley 2021).

Israel's rampant political tension underscores this most recent stalemate, revealing the likely possibility that these results will be hotly contested, to the extent that another election will need to be held (Hendrix, Rubin, and Berger 2021). Israel has been plagued for many years with unrest, the product of a broken electoral system that enables political corruption and further divides the electorate. 

This election actively defied and disrupted expected voting patterns and political mapping. The intensity of opposition against Netanyahu resulted in a large portion of voters aligning themselves with candidates on the basis of their attitude towards Mr. Netanyahu, rather than on the basis of their political ideology (Kingsley 2021). Interestingly, voter turnout was historically low-the lowest since 2009-revealing the public's general mistrust and disenfranchisement with the Israeli government (Kingsley 2021). 

These results allow Netanyahu to stay in power, despite having been indicted and standing trial on charges of political corruption. Israel now stands deeply entrenched in crisis as President, Reuven Rivlin, is expected to ask a political leader (of his choosing) to form a majority party (Kingsley 2021). Unfortunately, regardless of general opposition to Netanyahu's leadership, it may be exceedingly difficult to create an anti-Netanyahu party that could secure a sufficient amount of parliamentary votes. A rough coalition of anti-Netanyahu politicians will encounter great difficulty in forming an effective governing body due to major ideological differences (Miller 2021). 

Ultimately, the confirmed results of this most recent election have further positioned the Israeli government to fall deeper into crisis as it confronts moral and ethical concerns, desperately yearning for freedom from "Netanyahu's iron grip" (Miller 2021).

References: 

Hendrix, Steven, Shira Rubin, and Miriam Berger. "Netanyahu's Party Wins Most Seats in Israeli Election, Still Far Short of Governing Majority." The Washington Post, March 23, 2021. washingtonpost.com/world/2021/03/23/israel-election-netanyahu/ 

Kingsley, Patrick. "Israel's Election Ends in Stalemate, Final Result Show." New York Times, March 25, 2021. nytimes.com/2021/03/25/world/middleeast/israel-election-results.html?searchResultPosition=1

Miller, Jacob. "Why Building a Governing Coalition is Difficult in Israel." Harvard Political Review, March 27, 2021. harvardpolitics.com/building-a-coalition-in-israel/

Staff, Toi. "Netanyahu Reportedly Delaying Approval of Jordanian Request for Water." The Times of Israel, March 27, 2021. timesofisrael.com/netanyahu-reportedly-delaying-approval-of-jordanian-request-for-water/