Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung on the Israel election

The German daily Osnabruecker Zeitung comments on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy in the Israeli election.

In an editorial on Thursday, the paper writes, in part: "Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy of using scary scenarios and aggressive polarisation to win over most voters has not worked out. Many Israelis seem to have tired of the prime minister's constant alarmism and pompousness.

Israeli society is anything but homogeneous. On the one hand, the influence of Orthodox Jews is growing; they would like to condemn their fellow citizens to the strictest religiosity. This increasingly irritates secular Israelis who are invested in a liberal lifestyle. And then there is the matter of integrating Arab Israelis.

Israel needs a government that is intent on reconciliation both internally and externally. There is hardly a way around a broad coalition government."    (dpa)