It took three days after the election, and 24-hours after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed his election victory over Benny Gantz, for the defeated Blue and White chairman to call the Likud leader and offer his congratulations.
Gantz said the conversation Friday morning between the winner and the beaten challenger was short and to the point.
“With the end of the vote count and the announcement of final results, I congratulate you on the achievement in the elections. We will continue to serve the citizens of Israel, and I wish you and all of Israel a happy [upcoming Passover] holiday,” Gantz told Netanyahu, according to a readout provided by a Blue and White spokesperson.
“Thank you, I wish you a happy holiday. We will restore calm to Israel, each in his own capacity. Have a good Sabbath,” Netanyahu graciously responded, echoing Winston Churchill’s maxim: “In Victory, Magnanimity.”
Netanyahu cruised to a relatively easy victory this week that secures him a fourth consecutive term in office, and fifth overall.
As Breitbart News reported, the congratulations came in the wake of the Central Elections Committee announcement late Thursday night, with all of the votes counted, checked and rechecked, that showed Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party capturing a total of 36 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, compared to 35 seats for its main rival, the centrist Blue and White party. An earlier count had the two parties deadlocked.
Netanyahu said he would build a right-wing coalition, but would aim at inclusiveness to be the prime minister of all Israelis, right and left, Jewish and non-Jewish.
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