The Government of Benjamin Netanyahu, his sixth Administration after 18 months in opposition, was ratified on December 29 by Parliament. The prime minister, 31 ministers and five deputy ministers were sworn in at a Knesset ceremony as thousands protest against the new coalition. The expansion of settlements in Palestinian territories as a priority on his agenda and the controversial positions in his cabinet on the LGBTIQ + community raise outrage.
Benjamin Netanyahu once again heads the Government of Israel, this time with the most right-wing coalition in the country’s history.
After spending almost two years in the opposition, the politician took office as the new prime minister on December 29; his sixth term since he first held that position in 1996 and which he has served on and off.
The prime minister, 31 ministers and five deputy ministers were sworn in for their new positions immediately after Parliament ratified the new Administration through a vote in which it received the support of 63 of the 120 members of the Legislative Assembly.
In the compound, the rejection of many against the man who has governed the Israeli territory for the longest time was felt.
“I hear the constant cries of the opposition about the end of the country and democracy (…) Members of the opposition, losing in the elections is not the end of democracy, this is the essence of democracy,” Netanyahu said after going up to the podium in Parliament minutes before the official swearing in.
His speech was repeatedly interrupted amid boos from opposition leaders, who at times yelled “weak.”
But the voices against were not only raised within the Legislature. While the inauguration ceremony in the Knesset proceeded, in front of its facilities thousands of people protested in rejection of the most conservative coalition the nation has ever seen; made up of a hardline ultranationalist religious party dominated by settlers from the West Bank, two ultra-Orthodox parties and Likud, Netanyahu’s nationalist party.
The activists waved the flags of Israel and the LGBTIQ+ community, while chanting “we don’t want fascists in the Knesset.”
The rejection has increased after the controversial positions of members of the new cabinet, especially after clauses of government pacts against that part of the population were leaked on December 26.
One of the proposals that caused the greatest commotion was that of the deputy Orit Strok, who asked to allow doctors to refuse to treat those who “contravene their religious faith”, in reference to the group, which has sparked an intense debate in the country.
Those comments coupled with the ruling coalition’s broadly anti-LGBTIQ+ stance have raised fears among the community that the new Administration will reverse their limited rights.
However, the premier has tried to allay concerns with the promise that it would not affect their freedoms.
Lapid: “Try not to ruin our country”
Yair Lapid, the outgoing prime minister who will now take over as leader of the opposition, did not hide his disagreement with Netanyahu’s return to power.
The former prime minister told Parliament that he is handing over to the new government “a country in excellent condition, with a strong economy, with better defensive abilities and strong deterrence, and with one of the best international rankings in history.”
Lapid subsequently left the session without shaking hands with his successor.
Fear over controversial plan to expand Jewish settlements
Previous Netanyahu governments have been staunch supporters of Israel’s settlement expansion in the West Bank and other territories Palestinians claim as their own.
These types of actions are expected to expand and accelerate, since the Likud leader has made it clear that this issue is at the top of his agenda.
The new Administration published on its platform that “the Jewish people have exclusive and indisputable rights” over the entirety of Israel and the Palestinian territories and that it will advance the construction of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
That decision includes a commitment to annex the entire territory, a move that would generate strong international opposition by destroying any remaining hope for a possible, independent Palestinian state.
Furthermore, it would add fuel to accusations that Israel is an apartheid state for its discriminatory treatment of the Palestinian population under its control through a “system of oppression and domination”, as pointed out by various human rights organizations, including Amnesty International.
In addition, Netanyahu’s political allies are pushing for dramatic changes that could alienate large sectors of Israel, increase the risk of conflict with the Palestinians and pit the country’s government against some of its allies, including the United States and the American Jewish community.
In fact, Washington, its historical partner, has already warned against possible measures that undermine the hopes of an eventual Palestinian state.
Israel captured the West Bank in 1967 along with the Gaza Strip, from which it withdrew in 2005 but keeps under surveillance, and east Jerusalem, territory the Palestinians claim as the capital of a future state.
Nevertheless, Israel has built dozens of Jewish settlements that house some 500,000 Israelis who live alongside some 2.5 million Palestinians and thwart the plans of their neighbors.
Netanyahu returns to power amid corruption investigations
The controversial political leader returns to the Executive after being dismissed in 2021 after four stalled elections by a coalition of eight parties.
But the centrist coalition that replaced him and governed since June 2021 fragmented, making it necessary to call early elections.
In the elections, which took place on November 1, the Likud won first place, winning 32 seats. However, according to Israeli law, the ruling coalition must have its own majority. It was then that Netanyahu’s political movement allied with the other banks located in the most radical wing of the right.
Netanyahu retakes the Executive when he is still under investigation for corruption charges. He is accused of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases, but he would not be forced to resign until there is a final conviction.
With Reuters, AP and local media
#Netanyahu #sworn #prime #minister #rightwing #executive #Israels #history