Far right seizes Israel amid protests against Netanyahu – El Sol de Mazatlán

TEL AVIV. Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as prime minister of Israel, four years after his departure, after obtaining the confidence of the deputies to his new government the more rightist of the country’s history.

A total of 63 of the 120 members of the Knesset voted in favor of the government from Netanyahu formed by his party, the Likud (right), together with two ultra-orthodox parties and three from the extreme right.

Netanyahu was congratulated on his return to power by both the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, as by the American, Joe Biden who introduced him as “a friend for decades.”

“We have four main objectives: to hinder the efforts of Iran to equip itself with a nuclear arsenal, strengthen security and sovereignty within Israel fight against expensive life and high real estate prices and expand the circle of peace”, normalizing relations with other Arab countries, he said Thursday night Netanyahu in his first council of ministers.

Winner of the legislative elections on November 1, Netanyahu he had presented his ministerial team to the deputies in the morning, before the vote of confidence in parliament, where his coalition has the majority of seats.

Netanyahu announced the appointment of former Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen as head of diplomacy. The day before, he had indicated that Yoav Gallant, a former officer considered close to the pro-settlement movement in the occupied West Bank, would get the defense portfolio.

Security officials have already expressed concern about the leadership of the new government, as have Palestinians and some western capitals.

Hundreds of people, some of them making proclamations in favor of the palestinian people demonstrated against the new Executive in front of the Parliament.

“This is the darkest, the most racist and the worst government we could imagine,” said Niv, a protester.

“This far-right government does not scare us,” Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh said at a celebration for the founding of Fatah, the ruling party in the West Bank Palestinian enclave.

ORTHODOX AND EXTREME RIGHT

Netanyahu73, is the leader with the longest tenure as Prime Minister of Israel, with 15 years divided into two terms (1996-1999 and 2009-2021).

But facing legal charges for corruption, he was removed from power in 2021 by an eclectic coalition with politicians from left centrists and Arab parties led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid.

After the elections, the next prime minister began to negotiate with parties ultra-orthodox and far-rights such as Bezalel Smotrich’s Religious Zionist Party and Itamar Ben Gvir’s Jewish Power, both with a history of explosive statements against the Palestinians.

In the new Israeli government, Smotrich will assume the Ministry of Finance and will be in charge of colonization policy in the West Bank.

The United States, Israel’s longtime ally, warned that it would oppose any settlement expansion or any attempt to annex that territory.

Still, the party Netanyahu’s Likud indicated in his government program released Wednesday that he will promote settlements in the West Bank.

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Some 475,000 Jewish settlers now live in settlements considered illegal under international law.

These concessions can set fire to the always unstable situation between Israelis and Palestinians.

Israel and Hamas fought a war in May 2021. This year, other militant groups in Gaza exchanged rockets and missiles for three days in August with the israeli forces.

And in the West Bank, violence has escalated this year and many fear more trouble.