Israel PM Lapid congratulates Netanyahu on comeback in national elections

Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday congratulated former PM Benjamin Netanyahu on victory in the national election as final results showed that pro-Netanyahu bloc had got 64 Knesset seats, Times of Israel reported.

Lapid told Netanyahu he's instructed all departments of the Prime Minister's Office to prepare for an orderly transfer of power.

"The State of Israel is above any political consideration. I wish Netanyahu luck for the sake of the people of Israel and the State of Israel," Yair Lapid said, according to Times of Israel.

Netanyahu and his allies have won enough seats to form a majority government in Israel's parliament. The result will not just secure Netanyahu's comeback but underscore the country's rightward shift, reported NBC News.

"We have received a huge vote of confidence and we are on the verge of a very big victory," Netanyahu had told his supporters during an early morning speech at a victory rally in Jerusalem on Tuesday.

Israelis headed to the ballots in the unprecedented fifth election since 2019, as the country's political system has been immobilised for almost four years. The parliament has 120 seats.

Over 6.7 million eligible voters cast their votes in 12,495 ballots, according to figures issued by the Central Elections Committee. Some 18,000 police officers were deployed throughout the country for preventing fraud attempts, manage traffic and keep security.

Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving leader, sought to return to power with his right-wing Likud party and a far-right and Jewish ultra-Orthodox coalition.

Netanyahu had served as prime minister for 12 consecutive years before being ousted in June 2021 by a cross-partisan coalition led by current PM Yair Lapid.