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JERUSALEM — Israeli
Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu’s political and le-
gal peril increased Wednes-
day, as a completed parlia-

mentary vote tally affirmed

his party as the country’s

largest, but left his right-

wing bloc without the major-

ity it would need to govern.

Less than two weeks be-

fore he goes on trial on cor-

ruption charges, the 70-year-

old prime minister saw fluc-

tuations in the vote count

from Monday’s election

shrink the strength of his re-

ligious-nationalist coalition

to three seats fewer than the

61 required for a governing

majority.

As opponents sought to

deny him a mandate to form

a government, an angry Ne-

tanyahu accused his chief ri-

val Benny Gantz, a former

army chief of staff, of trying

to “steal the election.”

With 100% of the regular

ballots counted, Netanya-

hu’s Likud Party had 36

seats, compared with 33 for

Gantz’s Blue and White

party, according to Wednes-

day’s tally. That was viewed

as a devastating setback for

the 60-year-old retired gen-

eral, who had campaigned

hard on a platform of Netan-

yahu’s unfitness to serve.

But the first-place finish

for Netanyahu’s party

proved no guarantee of suc-

cess. In the tally released

Wednesday, the seat count

for the prime minister’s co-

alition — which initial exit

polls had put as high as 60,

the cusp of an overall victory

— slipped back to 58, three

short of a majority in the 120-

seat Knesset, or parliament.

That count will not be of-

ficially ratified until next

week. But it leaves Netanya-

hu dangerously exposed

heading into his March 17

trial on charges of bribe-tak-

ing, fraud and breach of

trust. He had hoped to shore

up his position with a solid

election win, then use the

powers of his office to short-

circuit his prosecution.

Even before the final

tally, supporters of the

prime minister — who

staged a splashy celebratory

rally Tuesday on the basis of

early projections — sounded

a drumbeat of complaints

that he was being treated

unfairly.

Netanyahu reacted

harshly when Gantz on

Wednesday proposed legis-

lation that would prevent an

indicted prime minister

from continuing to serve.

Addressing coalition mem-

bers, the prime minister said

Gantz’s move “undermines

the foundations of Israeli

democracy and subverts the

will of the voter.”

“We’ll stand strong

against it,” he vowed.

Netanyahu denies any

wrongdoing in the corrup-

tion cases. Gantz has cited

the criminal charges in re-

fusing to form a “national

unity” government of the

two biggest parties while the

prime minister heads Likud.

The initial mandate to try

to form a government usu-

ally, but not always, goes to

the head of the largest party.

If neither Netanyahu nor

Gantz can assemble a ruling

majority, a deadlock would

send Israelis back to the bal-

lot box again — a prospect

dreaded by nearly all.

As it was, Monday’s vote

was an unprecedented third

national election in less than

a year, and a fourth in so

short a time frame would be

expensive and debilitating.

Political analyst Yaron

Dekel, of Israel’s national

broadcaster, said that in-

stead of giving a mandate to

either Netanyahu or Gantz,

President Reuven Rivlin

could choose instead to

throw the matter directly to

the Knesset, initiating a 21-

day period in which a con-

sensus candidate could

emerge.

The muddled result of

Monday’s vote shifts out-

sized power to smaller

parties like that of former

Defense Minister Avigdor

Lieberman, whose secular

nationalist Yisrael Beiteinu

party holds seven seats,

under the completed count.

Lieberman, once a close ally

of the prime minister, re-

iterated a pledge not to team

up with him.

Perhaps the only clear-

cut victory went to a bloc of

parties dominated by Arab

citizens of Israel, who make

up about a fifth of the elec-

torate. The bloc, known as

the Joint List, won 15 parlia-

mentary seats, making it the

third-largest party.

In the aftermath of Mon-

day’s vote, political tensions

rose in tandem with fears of

the novel coronavirus.

Health officials, who have re-

ported 15 diagnosed cases,

said up to 100,000 people

might be called upon to self-

quarantine, possibly includ-

ing those over the age of 60.

Entire hospital wards were

being readied.

Israel also closed its bor-

ders to noncitizen travelers

from a clutch of countries in-

cluding France, Germany

and Austria, and imposed a

14-day quarantine on any-

one arriving from more than

a dozen countries in which

the virus has reached epi-

demic proportions.

Special correspondent

Tarnopolsky reported from

Jerusalem and Times staff

writer King from

Washington.

Netanyahu’s bloc doesn’t have majority

Prime minister says

his rival Benny Gantz

is trying to ‘steal’ the

Israeli election.

By Noga Tarnopolsky
and Laura King

ARYEH DERI, right, who chairs Israel’s Shas party, whispers to Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu during a meeting of the right-wing bloc at the Knesset.

Menahem KahanaAFP/Getty Images