Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel claimed to have reached an agreement to form a new government with hardline religious and far-right political partners. He will take the helm of the most right-wing coalition in Israeli history and return to power.
After winning the election on November 1, Netanyahu was given the go-ahead to form a government with the support of ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and a far-right coalition that ran as part of the Religious Zionism alliance.
Coalition negotiations had a deadline that was supposed to end at midnight on Wednesday.
According to a statement from Netanyahu’s office, Netanyahu called Israel’s President Isaac Herzog shortly before midnight to let him know he had “been able to construct a cabinet”.
It was unclear when the new administration would take office. Herzog was informed by Netanyahu that he wanted to do so “as soon as feasible”.
He declared on Twitter, “I have succeeded in forming a government. A Herzog representative acknowledged receiving the statement.
Netanyahu, who is defending himself against corruption charges in court, has already held the position of prime minister of Israel for the longest periods of time ever, including terms between 1996 and 1999 and 2009 to 2021.
One of his most contentious moves in putting together his coalition was his pledge to give Itamar Ben Gvir, the leader of the ultra-nationalist Jewish Power party, an expanded security ministry. Ben Gvir has a long history of using inflammatory language against Palestinians.
Palestinians and liberal Israelis are appalled by the government positions that Netanyahu has offered to hardliners from the extreme right Religious Zionism party like Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Ben-Gvir and Smotrich favor increasing Israeli rule over the occupied West Bank while opposing the establishment of a Palestinian state.
While Smotrich’s Israeli settler party will have control over planning in the occupied West Bank, giving it extensive power over the lives of Palestinians and creating the possibility of more illegal Israeli settlements being built on Palestinian land, Ben-Gvir is anticipated to serve as security minister with control over the police.
With legislation that would give him direct power over decisions typically made by the police commissioner, Ben-Gvir also seeks to exert more influence over the police.
Aryeh Deri, the leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party and a different coalition partner, is running for finance minister despite having been found guilty of tax fraud. He would share the portfolio with Smotrich for the first two years of the government’s mandate before taking it for the remaining two years.
Avi Maoz, the leader of a small, religious, anti-LGBTQ group, is a member of the coalition as well. He has been given control over a portion of Israel’s national education system and appointed a deputy minister in charge of “Jewish identity.”
After a year that saw the highest levels of violence in the occupied West Bank in more than ten years, with more than 150 Palestinians killed by Israeli forces and about 20 Israelis, the new cabinet, which Netanyahu is reportedly required to propose within a week, will take office.
From West Jerusalem, Al Jazeera’s Rob McBride reported that Netanyahu’s allies had previously been on the periphery of Israel’s political spectrum and that the Palestinians appeared to be bracing for the worst.
Nobody is expecting this government to take any steps toward achieving peace, according to McBride.
