Minutes before the deadline, Acting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced late Wednesday that he had reached an agreement to form a new coalition government led by his Likud party with its ultra-Orthodox party partners, Jews and the far right.

The winner of the November 1 parliamentary elections, whose deadline was 11:59 p.m. (local and Greek time), told President Isaac Herzog that he “succeeded” in forming the next government. He will replace Yair Lapid.

“I have it,” Netanyahu tweeted in Hebrew minutes before the deadline. The Israeli Presidency, for its part, confirmed that Mr. Netanyahu “called” Mr. Herzog to “inform” him in a timely manner.

“Dear President, thanks to the tremendous support of the people that we received in the last elections, I inform you that I have been able to form a government that will act in the interests of all Israeli citizens,” said Mr. Netanyahu. , according to a statement released by him.

After the election, Mr. Netanyahu was initially given until November 11 to form his government. But he requested an extension of 14 days, the maximum under Israeli law. The president, however, only gave him 10 more days, and the Israeli press was expecting announcements late Wednesday night, although the exact composition of the government had not yet crystallized.

Acting Prime Minister Netanyahu’s associates are well-known and will form, according to analysts, the most right-wing government in Israel’s history: the ultra-Orthodox Sas and United Torah Judaism parties, as well as three far-right factions, Bezalal’s Religious Zionism. Smotrich, “Jewish Strength” by Itamar Ben-Gvir and “Noam” by Avi Maoz.

In recent weeks, Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud party has signed agreements with far-right parties that include sharing portfolios such as those of National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir, responsibility for Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank at Bezalel Smotrich, and the Aryeh Ministry. Deri. , the leader of Sas.

However, members of the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, have yet to pass second and third readings of bills that would allow Mr. Deri to take the ministerial post (he was found guilty of tax fraud) and Mr. Ben Gvir to take over. Israeli police.

State of Justice

Israeli Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara warned last week that the new government’s bills threaten to turn Israel into a “democracy in words but not in deeds.”

“The politicization of the security forces will deal a serious blow to the most fundamental principles of the rule of law, namely equality, the absence of arbitrariness and impartiality,” he said, estimating that the barrage of bills (the s.s. used the German word blitz, implying blitzkrieg) the current interval will lead to ” profound” changes and require “a more detailed discussion”.

The politician, the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, with only 15 years in office (1996-1999, 2009-2021), accustomed to alliances, now pays attention to the distribution of ministerial portfolios in his own faction.

Before the new government is sworn in, which Mr. Netanyahu will announce “as soon as possible” – that is, according to analysts, either next week or early January, the acting prime minister should pass the bills and hand over key Likud posts. politicians, which is important, given the agreements that he has concluded with his partners, comments the center-right Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv.

Source: RES-IPE