The new Israeli government, to be led by Benjamin Netanyahu, placed settlement expansion in the West Bank at the top of its priority list the day before taking office.
Netanyahu’s Likud party released the new government’s policies this Wednesday, saying it will “promote and develop settlements in all parts of Israel — in Galilee, Negev, Golan Heights, and Judea and Samaria” — the Biblical names for the Western Jordan bank.
Netanyahu informed the speaker of parliament (Knesset) on Tuesday that he had the necessary support to form a government, the most ultra-nationalist and religious in Israel’s history.
Netanyahu’s Likud party will form a coalition with three far-right parties and two ultra-Orthodox parties.
Following this information to Parliament, the inauguration process, which was announced on Thursday morning, will officially begin.
Likud and the United Torah Judaism party (the latter formed by two ultra-Orthodox political parties, Agudat Israel and Degel HaTorah) signed the coalition agreement this Wednesday, after several days of disputes.
While details have not yet been officially revealed, the Israeli press reported that the agreement includes a series of changes regarding the role of religion in the state, including the obligation to separate men and women at public events.
Likewise, all MPs from the ultra-Orthodox party are expected to get some sort of post, including party leader Yitzhak Goldknopf, who will become housing minister, and Meir Porush, who will take over Jerusalem affairs.
On Tuesday, the leaders of the parties that will be in opposition met in the Knesset and released a joint statement, pledging to work together to face a government they consider too religious and extremist.
“We will work together to fight a retrograde and anti-democratic government in the making that wants to dismantle Israel from within,” reads the document signed by Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid), Benny Gantz (National Unity), Merav Michaeli (PvdA), Avigdor Liberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) and Mansur Abbas (Raam).
“We pledge that when we return to power, we will repeal extremist legislation that undermines the democracy, security and economy of Israeli society,” they added.
In the November 1 parliamentary election, Netanyahu and his allies won a majority of 64 of the Knesset’s 120 parliamentary seats, and the Likud leader began promising to form a coalition soon.
However, the process turned out to be more complicated than expected, in part because Likud’s ultra-Orthodox and far-right partners demanded firm guarantees about the future government project.
Source: DN
