Israel’s choice: Netanyahu remaining in power or a Palestinian-backed coalition

Incumbent could turn defeat into another term in office as rival parties erect confected barrier to unseating him

Hours before the final results from Israel’s elections were in, several things were clear. Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition had lost its mandate, and the opposition had a firm majority.

But most of Israel’s Jewish opposition ruled out governing with Palestinian-led parties, in the course of a racist election campaign that saw Netanyahu painting Palestinian citizens as an enemy inside the state.

The self-imposed ban on a broader opposition alliance, if it holds, offers Netanyahu the prospect of turning his defeat into another term in office – or at least a prolonged mandate as caretaker prime minister and perhaps another round of elections.