On Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu He announced that he was able to form a government with his ultra-Orthodox and far-right allies.
“I inform (President Isaac Herzog) that I have been able to form a government,” said a statement from Netanyahu’s office, released just half an hour before the deadline to reach a pact with other formations expired.
Netanyahu’s Likud party came first in the November 1 legislative elections, the fifth in three and a half years. In these elections, the Likud obtained 32 seats in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament), its ultra-Orthodox allies 18 and the Religious Zionism alliance 14, a record for the extreme right.
The historic arrival in the government of Israel of an Arab party (and why nothing is going to change for the Palestinians)
Netanyahu, 73, who faces charges of corruption in the justice system, has been the longest-serving head of government in Israeli history, first from 1996 to 1999 and then from 2009 to 2021. In 2021 he was defeated by an ideologically dispersed coalition that it faltered a year later.
The prime minister-elect had until December 11 to announce the new Executive. He asked for a two-week extension but President Herzog only granted him ten days.
Response from Russia and the US
Russian President Vladimir Putin contacted Netanyahu and congratulated him for announcing the creation of the government and they discussed the war in Ukraine.
The next Israeli head of government told Putin “that he hopes that a way to end the war and the suffering caused by it will be found as soon as possible,” his party, the right-wing Likud, said in a statement.
In turn, Netanyahu reiterated to the Russian leader that “he is determined to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and to stop its attempts” to gain military strength in areas close to northern Israel, referring to Syria, where the Israeli army continues to attack Iranian posts. or from militias associated with Tehran with the approval of Russia.
While the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, also congratulated him and stressed that he will judge his far-right Executive based on his policies and not his ideology.
“I want to congratulate Prime Minister Netanyahu for announcing the formation of the Government. The Knesset (Parliament) still has to approve him before he is sworn in, but we look forward to working with Israel to advance our interests and values,” Blinken said at a press conference to take stock of the year.
The leader of US diplomacy called for the new government to try to “provide equal opportunities, security, prosperity and dignity for both Israelis and Palestinians.”
“As previous US Administrations have done, we will judge and engage with our partners in Israel based on the policies they pursue, not the personalities who make up the government,” he said. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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