Netanyahu Secures Prime Minister Position

In a close race, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secured re-election on Tuesday night. This is Netanyahu’s fifth term and tenth year in office, and he is set to become the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli’s history.

Netanyahu’s Likud party won 35 out of 120 seats in Israeli’s parliament, the Knesset. Other smaller, right-wing parties are expected to ally with Netanyahu and Likud in the parliament.

Netanyahu’s victory came at the same time he is facing possible bribery and fraud charges. However, now that Netanyahu and his allies have secured a majority in the Knesset, they could pass legislation to protect Netanyahu from prosecution.

Last weekend, Netanyahu made a last-minute campaign promise to annex Palestinian settlements in the West Bank, a rejection of recent two-state compromises.

Netanyahu has been a staunch ally of U.S. President Donald Trump. In the course of his presidency, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel—a controversial move considering the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict—and moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem as well. Trump also recognized the Golan Heights region, also in dispute in the ongoing conflict over territory, as a part of Israel.