Netanyahu calls for right-wing government and says Israel and Trump have historic chance to eliminate Iran threat

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called early Wednesday for the formation of a “strong, national, right-wing government” as Israel counted ballots from its closely fought election, while declaring that Israel and President Donald Trump had a historic opportunity to eliminate what he called the existential threat from Iran.

Speaking at Likud headquarters in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said his party had emerged as the largest in Israel and argued that the election demonstrated a decisive right-wing majority among Jewish and Zionist voters.

“We must form a strong, national, right-wing government,” Netanyahu said. “We must not form a government that relies on anti-Zionist Arab parties.”

He called on what he described as Israel’s “Zionist majority” to unite, rejecting an opposition coalition dependent on Arab parties including Ra’am, the Joint List or Balad.

The latest vote count showed Netanyahu’s bloc leading with a projected 55 seats, compared with 49 for the opposition and 16 for Arab parties, still leaving the prime minister short of the 61 seats required for a parliamentary majority.

Netanyahu devoted a substantial part of his address to Iran, saying Israel’s military campaign had weakened Tehran but had not completed its mission.

“This is not over,” he said. “It is within our power, together with our wonderful friend President Trump, to remove this threat once and for all.”

Netanyahu later described the moment as a “once-in-a-lifetime historic opportunity” for Israel and the United States to eliminate the Iranian threat, saying other considerations should not divert Israel from that objective.

“We are still waiting for the final results,” Netanyahu told supporters, saying the complete count was expected over the next day or two.