Arrived at the forefront of Israel’s general election with his far-right allies, Benjamin Netanyahu must be formally nominated to form a government on Sunday, a victory for the ex-prime minister who vowed to find his costume.
His government may be the most right-wing in Israel’s history, which immediately sparked local and international fears.
Earlier this week, a majority of lawmakers recommended that 64 out of 120 in the November 1-elected parliament, President Isaac Herzog, give Netanyahu the task of forming a government.
His centrist rival, outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid, won 28 supporters.
Mr. Herzog will receive Mr. Netanyahu around 12:00 local time (10:00 GMT).
It was Mr Lapid who ousted Mr Netanyahu from power in June 2021, rallying a motley coalition of right, centre, left and Arab parties determined to end the rule of the country’s most enduring prime minister. History of Israel, in office 1996-1999 and 2009-2021.
Mr Netanyahu also faces corruption charges on a number of counts and his trial is ongoing.
After his defeat in the parliamentary elections in March 2021, “Bibi”, who was relegated to the rank of opposition leader, had promised “to overthrow the government at the first opportunity”.
Rightmost
On behalf of Mr Herzog, Mr Netanyahu has 28 days to assemble his ministerial team, with an additional 14 days if necessary.
Immediately after announcing the results of the Nov. 1 parliamentary elections, Israel’s fifth in three and a half years, Mr Netanyahu began talks with his allies over the distribution of ministerial posts.
While his right-wing Likud party won 32 Knesset seats, its ultra-Orthodox allies 18, and the Religious Zionism alliance 14, a record for the extreme right, this government may be the most right-wing in Israel’s history.
Among the ultra-Orthodox, Sephardi Shass leader Arieh Dery, bolstered by his 11 seats, has his eye on finances or the interior, according to the press.
Mr Dery was convicted of tax evasion in 2021 and had previously been jailed for corruption.
The far-right Religious Zionism alliance has claimed the Defense Department for its leader Betzalel Smotrich, while Itamar Ben Gvir, his No. 2, is targeting the Homeland Security portfolio.
“None Illusion”
According to Israeli media, Mr Herzog, whose function is mostly symbolic, tried to persuade Yair Lapid and Defense Minister Benny Gantz, rivals of Mr Netanyahu, to form a coalition with him to prevent controversial figures like Mr Netanyahu from entering the enter government Ben Gvir.
The President denied this information.
But speaking to Mr Ben Gvir on Thursday, Mr Herzog said he was getting “questions from Israeli citizens and world leaders […] very sensitive human rights issues.
“There is a certain image of you and your party that, and I will say this in all honesty, is worrying in many ways,” Mr Herzog told MK Ben Gvir, known for his anti-Palestinian diatribes.
Following recent elections in Israel, a politically divided country, several Western countries, including the United States, called for “tolerance” and respect for “groups.”
On the Palestinian side, the results of the Israeli vote were viewed with fatalism. Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said he had “no illusions that the Israeli elections would produce a partner for peace.”
Under Mr. Netanyahu’s previous governments, Israeli settlement in the occupied Palestinian territories has greatly increased and normalization agreements have been signed with Arab countries, which the Palestinians saw as “treason.”