The president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, has entrusted this Sunday to the former prime minister and current leader of the opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, the mission of forming the next government of the country. The appointment comes after the leader who has governed the Jewish State for the longest time has secured the support of a comfortable majority of the Parliament elected in the elections on November 1, marked by the strong polarization generated by his figure and by a dazzling rise of the extreme right.
In a statement Released after the ceremony, Herzog, who completed consultations on Friday with the leaders of the formations that have achieved parliamentary representation, said that “the result was clear and the task of forming a government must be assigned” to Netanyahu. This, for his part, has wanted to reassure – with an unconciliatory tone – those who fear for the political future of the country as a result of the re-election of him and of the far-right and ultra-Orthodox allies who will lift him to power. “This is not the first time these things have been said. It was not true then as it is not true today,” he assured. Netanyahu too advanced that his Cabinet will be “stable” and that “it will work for the benefit of all the inhabitants of the country without exception”, alluding to the Palestinian citizens.
Netanyahu now has about a month, plus two more weeks, to formalize his government coalition, although local media indicate that, thanks to the clear majority he has, the intention of his party, Likud, is to accelerate the process as much as possible and finish it within the next 15 days. The Israeli press indicates that the negotiations are very advanced and that only the distribution of a few ministerial portfolios remains up in the air. In this sense, everything points to the fact that the far-right Itamar Ben Gvir, co-leader of the Religious Zionism formation, the second party of the government coalition, will manage the Ministry of Public Security, and it is not yet ruled out that his partner Bezalel Smotrich will occupy the position. of defense minister. Ben Gvir has been convicted in the past of supporting a terrorist organization and for inciting racism, and the inclusion of his party in the Executive raises alarm inside and outside Israel.
More contentious issues that are on the negotiating table, according to Israeli media, include the promotion of illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, the increase in subsidies to students of religious study centers, and a stricter regulation on the immigration law of Jews converted through the Reform movement. Likewise, there are widespread fears about the policy adopted with the Palestinians, with the LGTBI community, and the management of places such as the Esplanade of the Jerusalem Mosques.
Another problematic reform that seems only a matter of time, however, is the approval of a law that protects Netanyahu from the three corruption cases for which he is being tried while he is in office as prime minister. Along these lines, Herzog pointed out this Sunday that he is not oblivious “to the fact that there are ongoing legal proceedings” against Netanyahu and that he does not trivialize them at all. But he noted that the country’s Supreme Court “has already expressed itself clearly on the issue” and that he sees no reason to stop it.
Yesh Atid —the party of the outgoing Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, and the formation that will lead the opposition in the next parliament— declared this Sunday, after learning of the assignment to Netanyahu, that it is “a black day for Israeli democracy.” Lapid has already begun to mobilize to organize the opposition with the many parties that formed his anomalous coalition government, which ranged from the extreme right to the liberals united to dethrone Netanyahu, although the reproaches they haven’t stopped yet.
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