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JERUSALEM, April 10-- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is highly likely to be the longest-serving Israeli leader as his major rival party has declared defeat in the elections held Tuesday in Israel. The official results showed that Netanyahu will be able to form a coalition, with a solid majority for his Likud party together with other right-wing and Jewish ultra-orthodox parties. With 99 percent of the votes already counted, Likud party and major rival Blue and White party currently have 35 seats each in the 120-seat parliament (Knesset). However, the Netanyahu-led right-wing bloc has a total of 65 seats, 10 seats more than the 55 seats that the center-left bloc has won. "The right-wing bloc has surprisingly secured 65 seats, an increase from the last elections," said Efraim Inbar, president of the Jerusalem Institute for Strategic Studies. Final results are expected Thursday. A major reversal is unlikely as the margin has been too wide. According to Israeli law, the Israeli president will meet heads of the parties to consult on the person to form the next government next week. And the final candidate will have 42 days to form a coalition. Netanyahu is expected to stick to his foreign policies, especially on the issues of Palestine and Iran, as in the past year, he has gained enormous support from U.S. President Donald Trump, his closest and strongest ally. In 2018, Trump recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, the Israeli sovereignty over the annexed Golan Heights, and resumed sanctions on Iran. | 
