Jerusalem CNN —
Benjamin Netanyahu has officially informed Israeli President Isaac Herzog that he has successfully formed a government, his Likud party said on Wednesday.
In a last-minute announcement, 10 minutes before the deadline, Netanyahu tweeted: “I made it.”
Netanyahu, who was prime minister for 15 years until he was ousted last year, had until midnight local time (5pm ET) on Wednesday to form the government after the Nov. 1 election.
The new Israeli government will likely be the most right-wing in Israeli history, including individuals appointed to ministerial positions once considered extremely nationalistic on the fringes of Israeli politics.
Members of Netanyahu’s Likud party are said to fill some of the key cabinet posts of foreign minister, defense minister and justice minister.
Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power Party, will assume the newly expanded role of public security, renamed Minister of National Security, overseeing the police force in Israel as well as some police activities in the occupied West Bank.
Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionist Party, was appointed finance minister, although he was also given the power to appoint the head of Israel’s military agency, which, among other things, manages border crossings and permits for Palestinians.
Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, is expected to serve as both interior minister and health minister, while a representative from United Torah Judaism, the other ultra-Orthodox party in the five-party coalition, is expected to serve as housing minister.
Not all ministerial posts had been announced by Wednesday evening.
Special laws must be passed in the coming days before Deri, Ben Gvir and Smotrich can be sworn in. A law must be passed for Deri to serve as minister despite his criminal conviction for tax offenses.
Ben Gvir needs legislation as his position expands the powers normally vested in the Secretary of Public Safety, and Smotrich needs new legislation giving him ministerial powers in the Department of Defense.
All three laws are seen as controversial, and there were voices outside of Netanyahu’s political opposition, including security officials, who opposed them.
The new government must be sworn in within a week of notification to Israel’s parliament, the Knesset – probably before January 2nd.