RAMALLAH, March 18, 2015 (WAFA) – Prime
Minister, for the fourth time in office, Benjamin Netanyahu of the right-wing
Likud party has claimed decisive victory in the Israeli parliamentary
elections, with 30 seats in the Knesset, while the Zionist Union was said to
have won 24 seats, according to Israeli media.
The Joint Arab List, which saw for the
first time the unity of four Arab parties including the southern branch of the Islamic
Movement, came in as the largest third bloc with 14 seats, followed by Yesh
Atid, Kulanu, Habayit Hayehudi, Shas, Yisrael Beiteinu, United Torah Judaism,
Meretz and Yahad.
Chief Palestinian Negotiator and
Palestinian Authority official Saeb Erekat, said it was clear that Netanyahu
will form the next government, for which the PA will step up its international
efforts to complain Israel’s violations of the Palestinian rights.
“It is clear that Netanyahu will form
the next government, so we say clearly that we will go to the International
Criminal Court in the Hague and we will speed up, pursue and intensify” all
diplomatic efforts, he told AFP.
“At a time when we are gravely
concerned about a culture of hate which brings with it unprecedented levels of
incitement against the 1.6 million Palestinian citizens of Israel, the results
of the Israeli elections show the success of a campaign platform based on
settlements, racism, apartheid and the denial of the fundamental human rights
of the Palestinian people,” he said in a statement.
“Such a result would not have been
possible had the international community held Israel to account for its
systematic violations of international law. Now, more than ever, the
international community must act.”
In the meantime, presidential
spokesperson Nabil Abu Rudainah said PA had no preferences regarding whoever
forms the Israeli government, as long as that government recognizes the
two-state solution and the fact the East Jerusalem should be the capital of any
future Palestinian state. He added that otherwise, there will be no chance of
peace in the region.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also
issued a statement in this regards, and expressed hope that the results of the
election could help revive peace talks with Israel on the basis of the Arab
Peace Initiative.
However, Netanyahu has clearly
expressed his position regarding the establishment of the Palestinian state and
the possibility of a two-state solution. Haaretz reported on Netanyahu Monday
stating that “if he were to be reelected, a Palestinian state would not be
created, in a definite disavowal of his 2009 speech, in which he had voiced
support for the principle of two states for two peoples.”
M.N/M.H
