New Delhi, Oct 27 — As Israelis voted to elect members of the 26th Knesset, the country's Parliament, India on Wednesday reaffirmed its commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties with Israel.
Tuesday's elections marked the first electoral contest in Israel since the 2023 October 7 Hamas attack, amid significant shifts in the political landscape and the issues shaping voter priorities since the 2022 elections.
Addressing a bi-weekly media briefing in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “Yes election is being conducted in Israel. I have seen many of your colleagues reporting from there. We have a good relationship with Israel. We will strengthen this relationship in the coming days...”
Meanwhile, partial election results on Wednesday afternoon showed incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-led bloc leading as vote counting continued, with 84.5 per cent of ballot boxes counted by Wednesday afternoon, local media reported.
The Central Elections Committee's partial results gave Netanyahu’s bloc 54 seats, while the opposition bloc led by Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party was projected to secure 49 seats.
The predominantly Arab Joint List and Ra’am factions saw their combined tally drop to 17 seats, the 'Times of Israel' reported.
Reacting to the emerging results, an Israeli citizen expressed hope for peace and unity, saying, “After the results, I think it's very close, everybody is in the same place, and I'm hoping for peace among us. I want us to be together…”
“I know you, the Indian people, like Bibi (Netanyahu), and because he is a friend of Modi, I respect Modi, and I love Modi so much. Benjamin Netanyahu is old school, and we don't like the old school. We want something new, a fresh mind and fresh blood in this situation in Israel. We love you, the Indian people. Namaskar, Jai Shri Ram,” he said, speaking exclusively to IANS.
Another Israeli citizen expressed support for Netanyahu’s return to power, saying Israel needed a leader who could understand the security threats facing the country and ensure its safety.
"I think that many Israelis did not expect the Arabs to come out and vote that massively, and people in Israel are concerned because our main issue here with this election is security. We are here at the Nova site where 378 people were butchered, who were coming to celebrate life, and we need a leader and a governing body that will understand who the enemy is, the mentality we are facing, the fact that they are educated from a very young age to kill us, the fact that they have Hitler's book Mein Kampf all over,” she told IANS.
“And this is the double mentality we are dealing with. So we definitely need a leader, the leader that will understand the enemy and understand their mentality, and will lead Israel to safety. And we're definitely hoping in this environment it can only be Benjamin Netanyahu, and we are hoping for it because it's very concerning,” she added.