(Israel Government Press Office)

All five papers discuss various issues regarding the provisional results of yesterday's elections for the 19th Knesset:

Yediot Aharonot suggests: "Had Netanyahu not saved himself by joining the Likud with Yisrael Beytenu, yesterday we would have seen the ouster of a prime minister the likes of which we have not seen here since Netanyahu was sent packing in 1999," and asserts: "At best, he finished the elections as a weak prime minister, the structure of whose coalition will depend on the goodwill of the biggest winner in these elections, Yair Lapid, and with a diluted and shrunken Likud that, according to the results of the exit polls, lost more than 25% of its strength."

Ma'ariv ventures that "The slogan 'Not with Bibi' worked in reverse this time," and adds: "Whoever broadcast to the public throughout this election campaign that he would go with Bibi – gained." The paper believes that "Lapid and Bennett are Netanyahu's natural partners," and wonders if a Likud Beytenu-Yesh Atid-Jewish Home government would be stable. The author says: "Between a right-center government and the alternative of a narrow government with the ultra-orthodox, it seems that the public's message is clear. It prefers a right-center government."

Yisrael Hayom avers: "The Likud ran a mistake ridden campaign from the minute it joined with Yisrael Beytenu until the failed recruitment of Moshe Kahlon," and adds: "But it still leads its competitors by a wide margin, and this is its last opportunity." The author suggests: "This is what the responsible public wanted: A government that can function while somewhat punishing the ruling party and reducing the influence of the ultra-orthodox," and adds:"A government, whose main axis is Likud Beytenu, Yesh Atid and the Jewish Home, could breathe new life into the public in order to deal with the socio-economic problems and diplomatic issues and somewhat blunt the international criticism. It will also be able to encourage the unavoidable processes of integrating the ultra-orthodox in the employment and security of Israel."

The Jerusalem Post revels in Israel’s democratic process, and notes that “While Israel’s democracy, as other democracies including that of the US, is far from perfect, it has an extraordinary resilience and ability to thrive during conflict.” The editor believes that “Much work remains to be done to safeguard minority rights and gender equality and strike a just balance between security and civil liberties,” and adds: “the same sensitivity that characterized Jewish Americans during the 1960s and mobilized them to participate together with King in the civil rights movement continues to live in the hearts and minds of the citizens of the Jewish state today.”

Haaretz asserts that the voting public “expressed no confidence in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.  The editor believes that “His failure is a failure of leadership, which will continue to cast a pall over us if he survives in power,” and declares: “The Knesset election did not end with a clear decision. Instead, a direction for the future, ahead of the next election, is emerging. It shows that Netanyahu is a man of the past.”

[Sima Kadmon, Amnon Lord and Dan Margalit wrote today’s articles in Yediot Aharonot, Ma'ariv and Yisrael Hayom, respectively.]