Israel's Netanyahu to present government on Thursday

Veteran Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu will present his new government to parliament this week, the Knesset speaker said on Monday.

Following his November 1 election win, Netanyahu secured a mandate to form a government backed by ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and an extreme-right bloc, with the 73-year-old set to resume his old post as prime minister.

"The vote for the formation of the government will take place at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) Thursday in a special session of the Knesset," parliament speaker Yariv Levin said in a statement.

Netanyahu on Wednesday said he had formed a new government, returning to power as the head of what analysts call the most right-wing coalition in Israel's history.

While the exact makeup of his cabinet has not yet been released, Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party will govern in partnership with the main ultra-Orthodox parties and members of the extreme bloc that ran under the Religious Zionism alliance.

Leading voices within the new coalition will include Itamar Ben Gvir of the Jewish Power party, tipped to be national security minister, and Bezalel Smotrich of Religious Zionism, set to be handed the portfolio responsible for Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

Both live in Israeli settlements, and Ben Gvir has a long history of using incendiary rhetoric against Arabs.

Netanyahu has also offered a key post to Aryeh Deri, from the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, although he currently cannot serve in the cabinet due to past convictions for tax offenses.

However, parliament is expected to pass legislation to remove that obstacle, with the second and third readings of a bill due on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Netanyahu, who is fighting corruption allegations in court, has already served as premier longer than anyone in Israel, including a 1996 to 1999 stint and a record 12-year tenure from 2009 to 2021.

His incoming government has sparked fears of a military escalation in the West Bank amid the worst violence in the Israeli-occupied Palestinian territory for nearly 20 years.

© 2022 AFP