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Netanyahu manipulates parties on left, right

By encouraging a coalition of Israel's far right parties and by pushing for splits within the Arab Joint List, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has increased his chances of winning the March 23 elections.
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The deadline for parties to submit their final lists for the March 23 Knesset elections was 10 p.m. Feb. 4. By the time it arrived, it became clear that Netanyahu could take credit for two major tactical achievements, bringing him one step closer to victory.

The first was a decision by two groupings on the far right to join forces rather than to run separately. The Religious Zionist party, headed by former Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich, reached an agreement to run together with the coalition of Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) and Noam. The Otzma Yehudit-Noam coalition is headed by Attorney Itamar Ben-Gvir, an acolyte of the late nationalist-extremist Rabbi Meir Kahane. Otzma Yehudit has long been a symbol of racist extremism, and Noam is opposed to LGBT rights.

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