(18 Sep 2019) Israel's two main political parties were deadlocked on Wednesday after an unprecedented repeat election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to hold on to his job. Netanyahu fell short of securing a parliamentary majority with his religious and nationalist allies in national elections, setting the stage for a period of coalition negotiations that could threaten his political future and clear the way for him to be tried on corruption charges.
In the West Bank city of Ramallah, some Palestinians expressed hope that this might bring an end to Netanyahu's lengthy rule.
"No doubt that Palestinians are satisfied with the fall of Netanyahu, this is not because we are concerned for Israeli election results but this means rehabilitation for the Palestinian people," said Raja Abu Duqa, a Ramallah resident.
Preliminary results indicate the two biggest parties - Netanyahu's Likud party and the Blue and White party led by Benny Gantz - each have 32 seats in the 120-member parliament.
If they form a unity government, Israel's Arab "Joint List" coalition would emerge as the main opposition bloc, a historic first that would grant a new platform to a long-marginalised minority.
Even if this happens, PLO official Hanan Ashrawi said it would be "extremely naive" to think the elections would make peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians more likely.
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