Israeli PM Netanyahu's Victory Could Be Short-Lived
JERUSALEM, Israel -- The morning after Israel's national elections in March, it seemed like Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party pulled off a stunning victory -- winning 25 percent of the seats in the Knesset.
But eight weeks later and just hours before Wednesday's deadline to form the next government, Netanyahu may be in trouble.
On Monday afternoon, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned from the government, citing ideological reasons. Hours later, Netanyahu signed an agreement with the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party.
But his ability to squeak by with a razor-thin 61-member coalition rests at this point on Naftali Bennett's Jewish Home party.
Likud is poised to blame Jewish Home if it doesn't go along with what's been offered. Bennett originally asked for the foreign ministry, but Netanyahu planned to leave it with Lieberman.
"If Bayit Yehudi [Jewish Home] rejects [Netanyahu's] offer, the result will be a left-wing government under [Labor Party chairman Yitzhak] Herzog that will evacuate settlements, concede on Jerusalem, give into international pressure and harm religious Zionists," The Jerusalem Post quoted an anonymous Likud official Monday evening. "Bennett should sign a deal already tonight and keep his promises to his right-wing voters by immediately joining a nationalist government."
But Israeli pollster and political analyst Mitchell Barak told CBN News Netanyahu's declaration that "against all odds" the nationalist camp secured a "great victory" may have been premature.
"The victory celebrations of Netanyahu seem to have been a little bit premature," Barak said, explaining that Likud effectively moved votes within the block, but nothing really changed in the numbers.
According to Barak, Netanyahu had a more stable government before and this one appears "unmanageable." He said Netanyahu likes the ultra-Orthodox parties in his government because their demands are mostly financial and they don't have a hardcore position on the peace process.
Barak said the government Netanyahu is forming is the polar opposite of what he's been doing for the past few years, making him look like he's not serious and setting the stage for another failure.
Meanwhile, there's some speculation that Bennett will again ask for the foreign ministry. If he's refused, Netanyahu may fall short of the mandates needed to form a government. At that point, Israel's president may give Herzog and his partner, Tzipi Livni, the opportunity or Israel may cycle through national elections yet again.
Many feel it's a time to pray. One major prayer movement in the United States announced a global conference call to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, saying, "The very future and the survival of the nation of Israel rests upon the forging together of this next coalition."
One local prayer leader told CBN News, "Those who believe in Israel's ultimate restoration should pray for God's overruling grace and power no matter what man does."
"There are plenty of examples from history that when we waited and tried to please our enemies, it didn't work," he said.
"Israel needs to be victorious and strong. We need a government that would do everything in its power for the defense of Israel. I don't see an alternative," he said. "Israel should do what's good for Israel."
