Israel: Macron congratulates Netanyahu on his victory and wants to “strengthen ties” between the two countries

French President Emmanuel Macron called former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday “to congratulate him on his victory in” legislative elections, in which he won a majority of seats with his right-wing allies, he said on Twitter.

“I just called Benyamin Netanyahu to congratulate him on his victory in the elections. We share the same desire to strengthen the already strong ties between Israel and France,” wrote Emmanuel Macron.

Towards the most right-wing government in Israel’s history

Benjamin Netanyahu and his right-wing allies won a majority of seats in parliament after legislative elections on November 1, according to results announced Thursday by the Israeli electoral commission.

With 32 seats for Netanyahu’s Likud, 18 for ultra-Orthodox parties and 14 for a far-right alliance, the right-wing bloc won 64 seats. Opposite, the block of outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid, from the center, won 51 seats.

Benjamin Netanyahu has begun negotiations with his allies to form a government that could be the most right-wing in Israel’s history, raising international and local concerns.

The announcement of the results of Thursday’s legislative elections, the fifth in three and a half years, came against a backdrop of renewed Israeli-Palestinian violence.