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Israel's Netanyahu says he has secured deal to form new cabinet

Thursday, 22 December 2022 2:39 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 22 December 2022 2:49 AM ]

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has secured a deal to form a new cabinet after weeks of wrangling with his far-right coalition partners.

Netanyahu made the announcement on Wednesday, minutes before a deadline set by the regime's president Isaac Herzog.

Netanyahu's Likud party said he confirmed the formation of the next cabinet to president Herzog in a phone call.

He won the mandate to form the cabinet after a coalition with the extremist Otzma Yehudit and Religious Zionism parties earned him a total of 64 out of 120 seats in the regime's general elections on November 1.

The new cabinet is backed by ultra-Orthodox parties and an extreme-right bloc.

The agreement to form a cabinet was held up by disputes over a package of proposed legislation on issues ranging from planning authority in the occupied West Bank to ministerial control over occupation forces.

Netanyahu is now heading the most right-wing coalition in the regime’s history.

The new cabinet - which Netanyahu must now present within a week - will take office after a year that has seen the worst levels of violence in the occupied West Bank in more than a decade, with nearly 200 Palestinians, including 43 children, killed.

Netanyahu is currently faced with various corruption charges and has been indicted on multiple bribery and fraud charges in Israeli courts.

He has already served as premier longer than anyone in the regime’s history. His election followed a protracted period of political crisis in which Israel saw five general elections in less than four years.

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Benjamin Netanyahu