Israel’s President Isaac Herzog announced on Friday that he will invite Benjamin Netanyahu to form Israel’s next government and set him to break the record for the sixth time and take the top historic position as the nation’s longest-serving premier.
The president said that he will officially issue the mandate to Benjamin Netanyahu and meet with Benjamin Netanyahu at the president’s residence on Sunday.
In his official statement, he said that 64 members of the Knesset recommended the veteran Likud party leader’s name after a Parliamentary meeting and 28 Knesset members recommended outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid while the same number chose not to recommend anyone.
The leaders of the right-wing religious bloc, which includes the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties along with the far-right Religious Zionism party, Jewish Power and Noam, all backed Benjamin’s name.
Under Israeli law, Benjamin Netanyahu, now 73, will then have about 28 days to form a new government. If an extension is necessary, the President will have the legal authority to grant an extension of up to fourteen days. Within the stipulated time, if Netanyahu can reach a coalition agreement by the 11th of December, the Knesset Speaker will call a confidence vote within seven days.
Benjamin Netanyahu’s power
With a four-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset, Netanyahu will have to divide up ministries among his five coalition partners and make up for negotiations over policies to not bring his coalition down.
Major leaders like Itamar Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich advocate orthodox Jewish law, with the former demanding to be made Public Security Minister of Israel and the latter, who sees himself as a proud ‘homophobe’, seeks to reduce the power of the Supreme Court.
What follows the drive to join forces with the extreme right wing, the sixth reign of Netanyahu may turn out to further alienating the half of Israel that didn’t vote for the bloc of parties backing him.
Restrictions on settlements in the occupied West Bank could be loosened, prompting international condemnation. Violence between Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank could worsen as 2022 saw more people being killed on each side than at any time since 2015.
Apart from the anti-Arab racism, another issue would be to address the conflicted site of Jerusalem, sacredly known to Jews as the Temple Mount and to Muslims as the Ḥaram al-Sharīf, or Noble sanctuary. As Muslims are allowed to pray at the compound, Ben Gvir advocates allowing Jews to pray at what is seen as their holiest site.
It should be kept in mind that any radical change could give Palestinian militants a chance to carry out attacks in addition to its condemnation by Israel’s newly made friends including major Arab players like Morocco, the UAE and Bahrain.
Moreover, President Herzog himself summed up the hot issue when he said “You’re going to have a problem with the Temple Mount. That’s a critical issue. You have a partner that the entire world is anxious about,” an apparent reference to Ben Gvir.
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Herzog also told another of Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies, Avi Maoz of the anti-LGBT Noam faction, “There has been concern about things you have said about the LGBT community. All human beings were created in God’s image and we must respect everyone. We have only one State of Israel and that also pertains to your party.”
Netanyahu was also the first prime minister to be born in Tel Aviv after its Declaration of Independence, though he was raised by his Jewish parents in both Jerusalem and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. Previously, he also served the Israel Defence Forces, was the Permanent Representative of Israel to the UN, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Minister of Finance.
Israel could also witness some transformations in its dealings with the U.S.A. as Netanyahu may not seem to have the same happy time with President Joe Biden as he did with Donald Trump, but the two men seem to get along.
Replying to Joe Biden’s call of congratulations, Benjamin Netanyahu said that the two countries will try to bring more historic peace agreements and be committed to their alliance and relationship to make it stronger.
Benjamin Netanyahu is vehemently against the US rejoining the Iran nuclear deal, but that seems off the table for now. On serious issues like Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and Israel’s reluctance to provide Kyiv with defensive weapons, Netanyahu promised President Zelensky to seriously examine the issue.
