Israeli PM Lapid congratulates Netanyahu on election win - Reuters.com

JERUSALEM, Nov 3 (Reuters) - Israel Prime Minister Yair Lapid connected Thursday congratulated Benjamin Netanyahu connected his predetermination triumph arsenic last results confirmed the erstwhile premier's triumphant comeback astatine the caput of a solidly right-wing alliance.

Netanyahu's triumph is acceptable to extremity an unprecedented stalemate successful Israel aft 5 elections successful little than 4 years.

This clip Netanyahu, the ascendant Israeli person of his generation, won a wide parliamentary majority, boosted by ultranationalist and spiritual parties.

Tuesday's ballot saw retired the centrist Lapid, and his uncommon confederation of conservatives, liberals and Arab politicians which, implicit 18 months successful power, made diplomatic inroads with Turkey and Lebanon and kept the system humming.

With the struggle with the Palestinians surging anew and touching disconnected Jewish-Arab tensions wrong Israel, Netanyahu's rightist Likud and kindred parties took 64 of the Knesset's 120 seats.

Netanyahu inactive has to beryllium officially tasked by the president with forming a government, a process that could instrumentality weeks.

"The clip has travel to enforce bid here. The clip has travel for determination to beryllium a landlord," tweeted Itamar Ben-Gvir of the far-right Religious Zionism party, Likud's apt elder partner.

He was responding to a stabbing reported by Jerusalem police. In the West Bank, troops killed an Islamic Jihad militant and a 45-year-old antheral successful a abstracted incident, medics said. Queried connected the second death, the service said it opened occurrence erstwhile Palestinians attacked them with rocks and petrol bombs.

Later successful the evening, aerial onslaught sirens went disconnected successful confederate Israel aft militants successful Gaza fired a rocket that was seemingly intercepted by rocket defences, the subject said.

A West Bank settler and erstwhile subordinate of Kach, a Jewish militant radical connected Israeli and U.S. violent watchlists, Ben-Gvir wants to go constabulary minister.

Israeli media, citing governmental sources, said the caller authorities whitethorn beryllium clinched by mid-month. Previous coalitions successful caller years person had narrower parliamentary majorities that made them susceptible to no-confidence motions.

With conjugation gathering talks yet to officially begin, it was inactive unclear what presumption Ben-Gvir mightiness clasp successful a aboriginal government. Since the election, some helium and Netanyahu person pledged to service each citizens.

But Ben-Gvir's ascendancy has stirred alarm among the 21% Arab number and centre-left Jews - and particularly among Palestinians whose U.S.-sponsored statehood talks with Israel broke down successful 2014.

While Washington has publically reserved judgement pending the caller Israeli coalition's formation, a U.S. State Department spokesperson connected Wednesday emphasised the countries' "shared values".

"We anticipation that each Israeli authorities officials volition proceed to stock the values of an open, antiauthoritarian society, including tolerance and respect for each successful civilian society, peculiarly for number groups," the spokesperson said.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Thomas Nides said helium spoke with Netanyahu and told him helium looked guardant to "working unneurotic to support the unbreakable bond."

Additional reporting by Ali Sawafta and Nidal-al-Mughrabi; Writing by Dan Williams Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Jon Boyle and Howard Goller

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.