EPA
ANNOUNCEMENTS•
In Israel, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has announced that he has formed a new government. This appears to pave the way for his return as head of government, leading the most right-wing government ever in Israel. The new coalition includes a far-right party and two ultra-Orthodox parties.
This was announced by the 73-year-old leader of the Likud party in a telephone conversation with President Isaac Herzog. A short video with a snippet of that conversation was posted on Twitter. Netanyahu added that he was able to form a government “because of the enormous support we received in the last election”.
Netanyahu says he wants to complete the training process “as soon as possible next week”. He did not give a precise date for the oath.
In early November, the Likud party emerged as big winner from the parliamentary elections. It therefore appears that Netanyahu, suspected of corruption, will return as prime minister. He has already held that role from 1996 to 1999 and between 2009 and 2021.
Polarization
If the coalition gets sufficient support, Netanyahu will have a difficult task ahead of him. His coalition partners are pushing for radical course changes that could lead to greater polarization in the country. Palestinians in the West Bank fear the new government will further tighten its grip on the Palestinian territories and greatly expand Jewish settlement building.
The expected coalition parties also want to review the rule of law and implement legislative changes which, among other things, will result in the court case against Netanyahu being dropped for fraud and corruption.
