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Another blow for the SPD: Following their debacle in the Baden-Württemberg state elections two weeks ago, the party has suffered another sharp loss in Rhineland-Palatinate, dropping around nine percentage points and losing to the CDU.

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Projections from ARD and ZDF (Infratest dimap and Forschungsgruppe Wahlen) after 8 p.m. show the CDU leading with 30.6%, while the Social Democrats, who have governed for 35 years under incumbent state premier Alexander Schweitzer, trail in second place with just 25.7%.

AfD records strongest result in the West

The biggest gains went to the AfD, which, according to projections, comes third with around 20%.

While all three governing parties (SPD, Greens, and FDP) suffered more or less significant losses—and the CDU and Left Party’s gains of two to three percentage points appear modest—the AfD’s jump of more than eleven points is striking.

This is likely to be the right-wing populists’ best result in a state election in western Germany.

The party now positions itself as a strong opposition force. Party leader Alice Weidel was already promising “excellent opposition work” on Sunday evening.

Only four parties in total in the state parliament

The Greens became the fourth-strongest party with 7.9 percent. The Free Democrats, the third partner in Rhineland-Palatinate’s traffic-light coalition, will, according to the projections, no longer make it into the state parliament, with around two percent. The Left Party also misses out on entering parliament, despite gains, with just over four percent of the vote.

It was initially unclear how much the high number of postal votes could still affect the outcome. According to the current projections, however, only four parties will be represented in the state parliament.

Grand coalition with CDU as senior partner likely

The CDU is likely to provide the next state premier in the form of Gordon Schnieder, brother of Federal Transport Minister Patrick Schnieder. A grand coalition with the SPD currently appears the most likely option.

For Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s federal CDU this is a clear success after the neck-and-neck race in the campaign in Rhineland-Palatinate. The race against the Greens two weeks ago in Baden-Württemberg was much tighter.

The party’s parliamentary group leader at federal level, Jens Spahn, described the victory as “historic”. He also sees it as a signal for national politics, hoping for a “tailwind” at the federal level, he told ARD in an interview.

Within the SPD, however, the shock runs deep. Party leader and Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil announced personnel debates as a consequence in an ARD interview, while the SPD’s general secretary spoke of a “bitter setback”.

At least 10 Palestinians were injured Sunday night in attacks in the occupied West Bank by Israeli settlers, who rampaged through nearby villages after holding a funeral for a settler killed in a car crash a night earlier.

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society said the wounded in Deir al-Hatab included a 45-year-old man shot in the foot and a woman suffering from smoke inhalation. Videos obtained by The Associated Press show cars and homes set ablaze as army flares lit up the sky near the village east of Nablus and next to the Israeli settlement of Elon Moreh.

The arson and assaults in four Nablus-area villages on Sunday came a day after the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported simultaneous attacks in at least six communities overnight — the latest spates of violence in the occupied West Bank.

Read moreThe West Bank, up against the wall: Illegal Palestinian workers face exploitation and danger

Sunday night’s rampage came after mourners in the settlement of Elon Moreh held a funeral for Yehuda Sherman, an 18-year-old Israeli settler. Authorities said he was killed in a collision with a Palestinian vehicle in an area north of the villages attacked. Police said they were investigating the settlers’ claims that the collision was deliberate. Israel‘s military did not respond to questions about Sunday night’s attacks.

The violence came as Israel’s government presses ahead with new settlements in the occupied West Bank and attacks by settlers — including arsons, shootings and beatings — have intensified as attention shifts to the Iran war.

Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the head of Israel‘s military last week condemned such attacks and said it was especially unacceptable during wartime for the military “to confront a threatening minority from within.”

WAFA reported Saturday night’s attacks in the villages of Silat al Dahr and Fandaqumiya, both near Jenin; in Jalud and Salfit, both south of Nablus; and in the agricultural regions Masafer Yatta and the Jordan Valley. Homes and cars were set ablaze, Palestinians were pepper-sprayed and at least five people were wounded in the overnight assaults, which took place during the Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of Ramadan, the agency said. 

Read moreSettler violence surges in the West Bank

Israel’s military said that late Sunday security forces detained five Israeli civilians and confiscated some weapons as they attempted to restore order. It said security forces came under attack from Israeli civilians and a soldier as well as a number of Palestinian civilians were injured.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported 25 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli settlers and soldiers this year as of March 15.

Also on Sunday, four Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip, hospital authorities said.

One strike hit a vehicle in the central Nuseirat refugee camp and killed three police officers, according to the Awda Hospital, which received the casualties. Ten others were wounded, it said. Another Palestinian was killed in Gaza City, according to Shifa Hospital.

The deaths were the latest fatalities among Palestinians in the coastal enclave since an October ceasefire deal attempted to halt a more than 2-year war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

While the heaviest fighting has subsided, the ceasefire has still seen almost daily Israeli fire. Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones, killing more than 670 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

The Israeli military did not immediately comment on Sunday’s strikes but has previously said Israel will respond to violations of the ceasefire threats to its soldiers.

(FRANCE 24 with AP)