Benjamin Netanyahu, who is designated as Israel’s prime minister, has announced that he has successfully formed a new coalition, paving the way for his return to power as the head of the new Israeli government.
“I have managed (to form a government),” Netanyahu tweeted on Wednesday just before President Isaac Herzog’s midnight deadline.
A spokesperson for Herzog confirmed that the statement from Netanyahu had been received.
After weeks of surprisingly difficult negotiations with his partners, who still need to finalize their power-sharing agreements with Netanyahu’s Likud Party, the announcement was made.
Despite this, Netanyahu stated that the new government is likely to be sworn in “as soon as possible.”
Coalition’s internal tensions
In the election on November 1, Netanyahu’s conservative Likud and similar religious-nationalist parties that are close to the ultra-Orthodox and occupied West Bank settler communities won a comfortable majority, promising him 64 of the 120 seats in parliament.
However, disagreements over a package of proposed legislation on topics ranging from planning authority in the occupied West Bank to ministerial control over the police held up the agreement to form a government.
After a year that saw the worst levels of violence in the occupied West Bank in more than a decade, with more than 150 Palestinian and 20 Israeli deaths, the new government, which Netanyahu must now present within a week, will take office.
After Israelis went to the polls five times in less than four years, a stable government would end the tumultuous period. However, weeks of conflict have made it clear that the coalition may still face significant internal tensions.
In Israel and around the world, it has also sparked concern due to its composition and proposals to increase parliament’s authority to overturn court decisions. The justice system’s independence is questioned by critics.
Palestinians and liberal Israelis have been shocked by the inclusion of extremes Itamar Ben-Gvir of the ultranationalist Jewish Power party and Bezalel Smotrich of the far-right Religious Zionism party.
Both go against Palestinian statehood and back expanding Israeli sway into the involved West Bank, adding one more hindrance to a two-state arrangement, the goal upheld by Palestinian pioneers, the US and European legislatures.
Also Read: Blinken warns Netanyahu about annexing the West Bank, but he criticizes the far-right cabinet
New ministers
Smotrich’s pro-settler party will have control over planning in the occupied West Bank, giving it extensive control over the lives of Palestinians and opening the door to the expansion of Israeli settlements. Ben-Gvir will be the security minister, with authority over the police.
Additionally, Ben-Gvir wants to exert a greater degree of direct control over the police through the passage of legislation that would grant him direct authority over policy matters that are typically decided by the police commissioner.
Aryeh Deri, the leader of the religious Shas party, is running for finance minister at the same time, despite having been found guilty of tax fraud.
He would assume control over the service for quite some time under a common game plan with Smotrich, who might serve for the initial two years of the public authority’s term.
Netanyahu has pledged to govern in the best interests of all Israeli citizens and has stated that he will ultimately determine Israeli policy.
The veteran leader is on trial for corruption charges, which he denies, after returning to power after a record 15 years.
Source: TRT World
