Video Editor: Varun Sharma
Video Producer: Udayan Sinha
Israel held elections to elect their new prime minister on 9 April 2019. Incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Natanyahu and Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz had both declared victory as the exit polls suggested a very closely contested election.
Prior to the results being finalised, Benny Gantz said that Tuesday's vote marked a "historic day" for Israel and urged his rival, incumbent Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to step aside.
Gantz, during his address also talked about the corruption charges that Netanyahu is facing and said that his political rival will face a “pile of cases” following his appointment to the office of the prime minister of Israel.
However, as the night dragged on, signs were clear, Netanyahu’s Lukid party were going to form the government. Netanyahu will serve his fifth and fourth consecutive term as the prime minister of Israel.
One of Netanyahu’s major pitches for getting re-elected was his strong foreign policy through which he has been able to form a strong friendship with President Donald Trump and his success in cultivating new allies, such as China, India and Brazil.
A senior Palestinian official – Saeb Erekat – has said that the Israeli people have voted to maintain a “status quo”. He also said that the results suggested that Israelis wanted Palestinians "to live under a deeper apartheid system than that existed in the darkest hours of South African apartheid".
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