On Thursday, Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, voted and ratified Israel’s 37th government, which was sworn in by new Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu, after 63 lawmakers voted in favour of the new government while 54 opposed it.
Netanyahu’s bloc, comprising his Likud party (32 seats), two ultra-Orthodox parties (United Torah Judaism and Shas), and three far-right religious factions (Religious Zionist Party, Otzma Yehudit, and Noam), won a total of 64 out of 120 Knesset seats in the 1 November election. Then-PM Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid party acquired only 24 seats and now leads the opposition.
זה תלוי בכם! צאו להצביע.
— הליכוד (@Likud_Party) November 1, 2022
איור: lidor.kash pic.twitter.com/9njPlCBOoe
The new government’s 31-member cabinet includes five women, one of whom, Gila Gamliel, was appointed as Intelligence Minister in the hours between the Knesset’s approval and the government’s swearing-in. Yoav Gallant, a former top general and military strategist, was appointed as Defence Minister on 28 December, while former Economy Minister, Eli Cohen, was chosen as Foreign Minister minutes before Netanyahu’s announcement, and will serve in rotation with Israel Katz.
Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, will serve as deputy PM for the entirety of the government’s term, a move that has been challenged in court due to his imprisonment on corruption charges during his earlier term as Interior Minister in 2000. Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the Otzma Yehudit party, will head the newly formed National Security Ministry that has unprecedented powers over the Israel Police. Ben Gvir, who has faced several criminal charges including those of incitement to racism and hate speech against Arabs, will be serving as a government minister for the first time.
אני איתמר בן גביר, בנם של צדוק ושושנה זכרונם לברכה, מתחייב כחבר הממשלה לשמור אמונים למדינת ישראל ולחוקיה, למלא באמונה את תפקידי כחבר הממשלה ולקיים החלטות הכנסת. pic.twitter.com/3h9ZbE6O7K
— איתמר בן גביר (@itamarbengvir) December 29, 2022
A press release by the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office detailed Netanyahu’s remarks at the 37th government’s first cabinet meeting. After expressing his happiness and excitement for having formed a government for the sixth time, Netanyahu explained the four main goals for his government, “First of all, to block Iran. This is an existential question. First of all, we will see to our existence and security. Second, to restore the security and governance within the State of Israel. Third, to deal with the cost of living and the housing problem. Fourth, and I believe that this is within reach, to dramatically expand the circle of peace.”
Outgoing PM Yair Lapid was not as excited, lamenting his government’s exit on Twitter, saying that his party is handing over the country “with a restless heart,” hoping that the newly elected government does not “ruin” the state’s “strong economy, with improved security capabilities and powerful deterrence,” and “one of the best international status[es] that [Israel] has ever [had].”
בלב לא שקט אנחנו מעבירים את המדינה לידי הממשלה הנבחרת.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) December 29, 2022
אנחנו מעבירים לכם מדינה במצב מצויין. עם כלכלה חזקה, עם יכולות בטחוניות משופרות והרתעה עוצמתית, עם מעמד בינלאומי מהטובים שהיו פה אי פעם. תשתדלו לא להרוס את זה, אנחנו תיכף חוזרים.
While Netanyahu previously condemned Lapid’s endorsement of a two-state solution to the Palestine conflict, earlier this month, in an interview with Al Arabiya, he emphasised that normalising ties with Saudi Arabia would be a “quantum leap” toward ending the Arab-Israeli conflict. This alternative solution to the Palestinian issue was proposed by him despite the fact that Saudi officials have maintained that without a Palestinian state, there can be no normalisation.
Besides the complications regarding Palestine, several domestic issues have cropped up in light of Netanyahu’s re-election, most, if not all, stemming from the extreme right-wing nature of the new government. Although the Knesset elected Likud’s Amir Ohana, an openly gay member of the Knesset, as its speaker shortly before the confidence vote, hundreds of people staged a rally in Tel Aviv in support of the LGBTQ community on Thursday evening, fearing that the new government’s policies may infringe upon their rights. Nevertheless, Ohana and Netanyahu, among others, have pledged that no harm will come to the “minority that is fearful.”
מחאת הקהילה הגאה בקריית הממשלה בתל אביב: מפגינים חסמו את צומת עזריאלי@ittaishick pic.twitter.com/2zUr3WJzQE
— כאן חדשות (@kann_news) December 29, 2022
Similarly, Israel’s ambassador to France, Yael German, slammed the “extremist views” of the incoming government in a resignation letter she submitted to Netanyahu on Thursday. “Under these circumstances, I cannot lie to myself and continue representing a policy that is so radically different from everything that I believe in,” German wrote in the letter that she also published on Twitter.
מכתב ההתפטרות מתפקידי כשגרירת ישראל בצרפת. מכתב ששלחתי לרוה"מ לפני כשעה. pic.twitter.com/O793ezBCKr
— יעל גרמן Yael German (@GermanYael1) December 29, 2022
However, many world leaders did not share the same grief regarding Netanyahu’s third term as Israeli PM. United States (US) President Joe Biden, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, among others, congratulated Netanyahu and his right-wing government.
While Biden and his Secretary of State, Anthony J. Blinken, reaffirmed US’ close relations with Israel and said they looked forward to working with the new government, they also reiterated US support for a two-state solution, saying the US will “oppose policies that endanger its viability or contradict our mutual interests and values.”
I look forward to working with Prime Minister @netanyahu and his government to promote democratic values, advance shared interests, and tackle mutual challenges. Our commitment to Israel’s security is unwavering.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) December 30, 2022
Similarly, Indian PM Modi and Italian PM Meloni shared a more hopeful outlook and said they look forward to strengthening “strategic partnership” and ensuring “stability and peace in the Middle East,” respectively.
Zelensky, the president of currently war-torn Ukraine, confirmed his country’s “readiness for close cooperation to strengthen our ties & confront common challenges, achieve prosperity & victory over evil.”