International
oi-PTI
“Heartiest
congratulations
@netanyahu
for
forming
the
government.
Looking
forward
to
working
together
to
strengthen
our
strategic
partnership,”
PM
Modi
tweeted.
Jerusalem,
Dec
29:
Benjamin
Netanyahu
was
on
Thursday
sworn-in
as
Israel’s
prime
minister
for
a
sixth
time,
leading
the
Jewish
state’s
most
right-wing
government
to
date.
Netanyahu,
73,
already
Israel’s
longest-serving
Prime
Minister,
has
the
support
of
63
lawmakers
in
the
120-member
Knesset
(Israeli
parliament).
In
the
house,
54
lawmakers
voted
against
his
government.
He
returned
as
prime
minister
with
the
formation
of
his
sixth
government,
which
is
composed
of
a
number
of
far-right
allies,
a
prospect
that
many
fear
would
put
the
new
government
at
odds
with
large
parts
of
its
own
population
and
its
closest
allies
abroad.
The
lawmakers
supporting
the
new
government
are
all
right-wing,
including
Netanyahu’s
Likud
party
supported
by
the
ultra-orthodox
Shas,
United
Torah
Judaism,
the
far-right
Otzma
Yehudit,
Religious
Zionist
Party,
and
Noam.
Shortly
before
the
confidence
vote
for
Israel’s
37th
government,
the
Knesset
elected
Likud
lawmaker
Amir
Ohana
as
its
the
new
Speaker.
A
former
justice
minister
and
public
security
minister
in
past
governments,
Ohana
is
the
Knesset’s
first
openly
gay
speaker.
Speaking
at
the
Knesset
ahead
of
the
swearing-in
of
the
new
government,
Netanyahu
said
that
the
three
“national
goals”
of
his
government
would
be
to
prevent
Iran
from
going
nuclear,
launch
a
bullet
train
that
runs
across
the
length
of
the
country
and
bring
more
Arab
countries
into
the
Abraham
accords
fold.
Amid
repeated
heckling
by
opposing
members
who
called
Netanyahu
“weak”
and
“racist”,
he
told
them
to
“respect
the
will
of
the
voters,”
and
that
“this
is
not
the
end
of
democracy
or
the
end
of
the
country.”
“In
a
democracy,
you
don’t
climb
over
the
walls
of
the
Capitol
nor
those
of
the
Knesset,”
he
said.
He
promised
to
improve
the
personal
safety
of
the
citizens
and
lower
the
high
cost
of
living.
Several
lawmakers
were
expelled
from
the
hearing
after
hitting
tables
with
their
hands
and
repeatedly
calling
him
“weak.”
Netanyahu
announced
the
appointment
of
31
ministers
and
three
deputy
ministers.
Three
government
ministries
–
defence,
education
and
welfare
–
will
have
two
ministers
serving
at
the
same
time.
However,
women
remain
in
the
minority
with
only
five
ministerial
posts,
marking
a
new
low
in
their
representation.
Earlier,
outgoing
Prime
Minister
Yair
Lapid
in
his
address
to
the
Knesset
listed
the
achievements
of
his
short-lived
government,
including
those
of
his
predecessor
and
coalition
partner
Naftali
Bennett.
“We
are
handing
you
a
government
in
excellent
condition
…
try
not
to
destroy
it,
we
will
be
back
soon,”
Lapid
said.
In
a
Facebook
post,
Lapid
vowed
to
continue
to
fight
to
topple
the
incoming
government
and
make
a
comeback.
“Citizens
of
Israel,
thanks
for
the
last
year
and
a
half,”
he
wrote.
“This
isn’t
the
end,
this
is
the
beginning
of
the
struggle
for
our
beloved
country.
We
are
fighting
for
the
future
of
our
kids
and
we
won’t
stop
until
we
topple
the
government
of
destruction,
and
return”.
Despite
a
clear
mandate
for
the
right
wing
to
form
the
next
government
under
Netanyahu
in
November
1
elections,
the
negotiations
between
the
coalition
partners
came
down
to
the
wire
with
the
emerging
bloc
having
to
pass
a
flurry
of
legislation
to
satisfy
the
demands
of
the
coalition
partners
even
before
the
government
could
be
sworn
in.
The
Knesset
passed
laws
sponsored
by
coalition
parties
enabling
Shas
party
leader
Aryeh
Deri
to
become
a
minister
despite
a
recent
conviction
and
suspended
sentence.
Other
legislation
changes
include
quasi-constitutional
basic
law
which
enables
the
Religious
Zionist
Party’s
leader
Bezalel
Smotrich
to
be
appointed
as
an
independent
minister
in
the
Defence
Ministry
in
charge
of
West
Bank
settlements,
which
forms
his
key
voting
constituency.
A
third
bill
granted
greater
control
over
police
to
the
newly
formed
National
Security
Ministry,
set
to
be
helmed
by
far-right
Otzma
Yehudit
leader
Itamar
Ben
Gvir,
who
has
been
convicted
multiple
times
for
incitement,
racism,
and
terror-related
offences.
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
drove
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,
introduce
far-right
influence
in
secular
education,
and
expand
religious
influence
over
state
and
social
institutions.
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-most
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.
Meanwhile,
the
Palestinian
Authority
(PA)
slammed
the
agenda
of
the
incoming
Israeli
government,
which
calls
to
expand
settlements
in
the
West
Bank,
as
a
“dangerous
escalation”.
“These
guidelines
constitute
a
dangerous
escalation
and
will
have
repercussions
for
the
region,”
said
Nabil
Abu
Rudeineh,
spokesman
for
PA
President
Mahmoud
Abbas.
Abu
Rudeineh
emphasised
that
Israel
must
realise
that
without
complying
with
the
UN
resolutions
“nothing
will
be
achieved
and
that
there
will
not
be
any
settlement
left
on
the
lands
of
the
independent
state
of
Palestine”.
He
also
called
upon
the
US
administration
“to
turn
its
words
into
deeds
since
it
is
committed
to
the
two-state
solution,
without
which
there
will
be
no
stability
in
the
region”.
Meanwhile,
hundreds
of
Israelis
protested
outside
the
Knesset
in
Jerusalem
against
the
new
government.
The
number
of
protesters
outside
the
Knesset
kept
on
swelling,
reaching
in
thousands,
as
the
day
progressed.
Leaders
from
opposition
parties
also
joined
the
protest
rally
organised
by
centre-left
organisations.
“This
huge
and
amazing
gathering
here
is
testament
to
the
fact
that
the
issue
is
not
fear,
it’s
determination,”
said
Labour
party
leader,
lawmaker
Merav
Michaeli.
“We
will
fight
for
the
State
of
Israel
as
it
should
be
–
a
home
for
the
Jewish
people
with
complete
equality
of
rights
and
opportunities,”
Michaeli
said.
PM
Modi
congratulates
Netanyahu
after
being
sworn
in
as
Israel
PM
Prime
Minister
Narendra
Modi
congratulated
Benjamin
Netanyahu
on
Thursday
after
he
was
sworn
in
as
the
head
of
the
new
Israeli
government.
Netanyahu
was
sworn
in
as
Israel’s
prime
minister
for
a
sixth
time,
leading
the
Jewish
state’s
most
right-wing
government
to
date.
“Heartiest
congratulations
@netanyahu
for
forming
the
government.
Looking
forward
to
working
together
to
strengthen
our
strategic
partnership,”
PM
Modi
tweeted.
