With just days until the election, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu pledged that if re-elected, he will annex Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank. The dramatic policy shift is an attempt to rally his base and appeal to the extreme right.
In Israel’s system of proportional representation, the party with the most support still needs other parties to gain a majority in parliament and to form a government. Netanyahu has become adept at cutting deals with small parties, but his latest move has faced backlash as critics say he will stop at nothing to stay in power. He has encouraged the racist anti-Arab Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) to join forces with a somewhat more mainstream party, which could enable it to pass the threshold to gain seats in the Knesset and ensure Netanyahu with another partner in his right-wing coalition.
Click on the player above to see FRANCE 24’s report on the far right’s increasing influence.
>> Watch part one of our series on the election: Israeli political parties seek to integrate former generals into their ranks
