Former Prime Minister Netanyahu has been tasked with forming a government and is likely to forge a coalition with extremist fundamentalists.
Tel Aviv. He’s done it again: After 17 months in the opposition, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is returning to power. President Yitzhak Herzog tasked the 73-year-old with forming a government on Sunday. In the November 1 parliamentary elections, the religious right-wing party that supports Netanyahu won a majority of 64 out of 120 seats.
Netanyahu promised yesterday that he would be a “prime minister of all”. While there are “differences of opinion” among Israelis, they are all brothers, “destined to live side by side.” However, the forgiving tone of voice is not to be expected to calm your opponents. On the contrary, Netanyahu’s new potential partners have put forward radical demands that have the potential to further divide the deeply polarized country – and damage Israel’s relations with the outside world.