Headlines
Netanyahu inks coalition in the nick of time
Jerusalem, May 7
Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to clinch a deal with the nationalist
Jewish Home party on Wednesday night, securing a new ruling coalition
with a tiny majority in the 120-member parliament.
At a joint
press conference, the fourth-time prime minister announced the deal,
which was reached hours before the deadline to form the new government
that is going to expire midnight on Wednesday, Xinhua reported.
"I'm
sure no one is surprised of the fact these negotiations continued with
all of the factions, and no one was surprised that it ended on time,"
Netanyahu said.
"This is not a government for right-wing people
or left-wing people or center people but for the entire people of
Israel," Jewish Home leader Naftali Bennett told reporters.
"Prime
Minister Netanyahu, we are behind you, we will do everything to assist
your success and for the success of the government. We've reached a fine
and worthy result for all involved. This government can complete a
term," Bennett added.
The agreement between the parties was not
officially inked, as final details will be hashed out in the upcoming
days, but they have reached a basic understanding on the Jewish Home's
intention to join the government.
Netanyahu will have until next
week to present his new government and have it inaugurated. On Monday,
Netanyahu must present the members of his new government to the Knesset
plenum. He will still have to make final decisions on how to allocate
the portfolios among members of his own Likud party.
Netanyahu's
Likud party won 30 out of 120 seats in the parliament in the March 17
elections. President Reuven Rivlin tasked him with establishing the next
government.
He received an initial period of 28 days and then an
extension of 14 days, to end negotiations. In the past week the Likud
party signed coalition deals with the center Kulanu party, the
ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties and, lastly, the
Jewish Home party.
Commenting the new coalition on his twitter
page, Labor party leader Yitzhak Herzog, whose party gained 24 seats in
the parliament, said that the upcoming government "lacks responsibility,
stability and governability."
"This is a weak and narrow
government which would not promote anything and will be quickly replaced
by an alternative of hope and responsibility,"the left-wing politician
wrote.