Netanyahu announces success of deal to form new Israeli government

Jerusalem, The Gulf Observer: Israel’s Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Wednesday that he had secured a deal to form a new government after weeks of unexpectedly tough negotiations with his coalition partners.

“I have managed (to form a government),” Netanyahu wrote on Twitter, minutes before a midnight deadline.

In a separate statement, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party said he informed President Isaac Herzog of the deal in a phone call.

The Likud has yet to sign final coalition agreements with four of its five partners – three extreme-right parties and two Jewish ultra-Orthodox parties. The new government needs to be sworn in by January 2, 2023, according to Israeli law.

The new government, which Netanyahu must now present within a week, will take office after a year that has seen the worst levels of violence in the West Bank in more than a decade, with more than 150 Palestinians and more than 20 Israelis killed.

Netanyahu has struggled in the past weeks to satisfy the demands of his coalition partners in exchange for their support.

The announcement marks the return to power of Israel’s longest-serving leader, who was ousted only a year and a half ago.

Netanyahu’s bloc won 64 of the Israeli parliament’s 120 seats in the country’s fifth elections in less than four years, which were held on November 1.

Netanayhu has said he will ultimately set Israeli policy and has pledged to govern in the interest of all citizens in Israel. The veteran leader, who returns after serving a record 15 years in top office, is on trial for corruption charges he denies.