World News | Israeli Knesset Speaker Says PM-designate Netanyahu Able to Form Government
Get latest articles and stories on World at LatestLY. Speaker Yariv Levin on Monday told the Israeli Knesset (parliament) plenum that Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has succeeded in forming a government and a special plenum will be held next week to ratify the new government.
Jerusalem, Dec 26 (PTI) Speaker Yariv Levin on Monday told the Israeli Knesset (parliament) plenum that Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has succeeded in forming a government and a special plenum will be held next week to ratify the new government.
Netanyahu last Wednesday informed President Isaac Herzog that he has been able to form the next government but the same could not be done at the Knesset because of Hanukkah holidays.
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The Prime Minister-designate now has seven days by when he must swear in his six-party coalition which will have the support of 64 members in the 120-member Knesset, all drawn from the right-wing consisting of Netanyahu's Likud party supported by the ultra-orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism and the far-right Otzma Yehudit, Religious Zionism and Noam.
Levin said that a hearing and vote on the incoming government is slated for Thursday morning, but the latest it can be held is Monday, January 2.
As per informed sources, Netanyahu still has challenges sorting out coalition agreements before swearing in the government.
Netanyahu, 73, Israel's longest serving Prime Minister, on Wednesday informed Herzog that he has been able to form the next government that would "work for the good of all Israeli citizens", minutes before the midnight deadline assigned to him.
In November, President Herzog officially invited Netanyahu to form the new government.
In a phone call to Herzog, Netanyahu last week said that he was ready to form the next government "thanks to the enormous public support we received in the last elections" that would "work for the good of all Israeli citizens".
He made the call a few minutes before the end of a 10-day extension given by the President following the 28 days initial period the Prime Minister-designate received at being tasked to form the government.
Despite a clear mandate for the right-wing to form the next government under Netanyahu in the November 1 elections, the negotiations between the coalition partners have not been easy.
The parties included in the government had run in the elections with a clear understanding that the Likud party Chairman, Netanyahu, would lead the next government if they were to get a majority, but they have driven a hard bargain in reaching coalition agreements, securing far-reaching policy and appointment concessions that will drive judicial reform, may change security service command structures, retroactively legalise and expand settlements.
Critics have raised concerns that the expected changes could impact the fundamental character of Israel's polity leading to changes that could harm Israel's internal cohesion, risk putting its delicate ties with the world Jewry in jeopardy, and also put the country at the receiving end of international condemnation due to its hardline position on the long-standing acceptance of a two-state solution to resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The new government where the right-wing Likud party comprises the left-flank of the coalition is a major shift from the previous one which for the first time in Israel's history had not only parties drawn from the Left, Right and Centre, but also enjoyed the support of an Arab party.
Some political analysts believe that "Jewish and democratic" conception of Israel's polity is likely to come under severe challenge with the nature of changes proposed in the coalition agreements of the shaping government.
Netanyahu, who is currently facing charges of corruption, has been carefully quiet on the issue of judicial reform but his close confidante and Knesset speaker, Levin, is a staunch supporter of judicial reforms and is likely to become the Justice Minister in the new government.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)