Netanyahu sworn in as Prime Minister of Israel

 

Israel's far-right leader Benjamin Netanyahu has been sworn in as prime minister. He was sworn in on Thursday (December 29) after winning a 63-54 vote of confidence to form a new government in Israel's parliament, the Knesset. Al-Jazeera news.

The fact that 73-year-old Netanyahu is prime minister has caused panic among the Palestinian and Israeli left. Netanyahu was in power for 15 years until he was ousted last year. First he was the Prime Minister from 1996 to 1999 and later from 2009 to 2021.

Netanyahu addresses a special session of the Israeli parliament ahead of a confidence vote on the new government. The opposition has raised questions that Netanyahu's government will be the weakest. In response, Netanyahu said that those who supported the Iran nuclear deal are saying this.

Netanyahu said the top priority of the new government will be ending the Arab-Israeli conflict. He also promised to stop Iran's nuclear program and increase Israel's military capabilities.

After Netanyahu lost the election last year, Yemina Party formed a government in alliance with Yar Lapid's centrist party Yes Atid. But recently, as the alliance between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Yar Lapid showed a rift, elections were held again.

Netanyahu's new government consists of two ultra-Orthodox parties and the nationalist Likud party, along with a notoriously hard-line religious ultra-nationalist party based in the West Bank.