Liberal senator and former ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma has said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “a great survivor of Israeli politics”, but that the high turnout of Arab-Israelis at this election signalled the possibility he could be ousted as leader.
“This is going to be the highest level turnout in election for about 30 years, and it’s particularly high amongst the Arab-Israeli community. Arab Israelis make up about 20 per cent of Israel’s population. That’s a population that traditionally does not vote in high numbers, but in this election … has come out voting very strongly, which would augur badly for Netanyahu,” he told the Today show.
“Look, he’s a great survivor of Israeli politics. You’ve got to bear in mind that Benjamin Netanyahu has now been Israel’s prime minister for the longest period.”
Polls have just closed in Israel, with early exit polls indicating the opposition bloc of parties edging slightly ahead of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition.
Sharma said it was not unusual for it to take weeks for a coalition to be formed following an Israeli election.
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