Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu says he has formed new coalition government

Incoming Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday evening that he has formed a new government after his Likud Party and allies won a majority during last month’s elections. 

Israelis went to the polls for the fifth time in four years on Nov. 1, with Netanyahu’s coalition winning 64 seats in the 120-member Knesset. 

“Thanks to the enormous public support we received in the last elections, I was able to establish a government that will work for the benefit of all Israeli citizens,” Netanyahu tweeted just minutes before a midnight deadline on Wednesday evening. 

Netanyahu, who served as Israeli Prime Minister for 15 years before being ousted in January 2021 amid a corruption investigation, spent weeks brokering deals with far-right partners to secure the new government. 

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Members of Netanyahu’s cabinet will likely include Itamar Ben-Gvir, who will be appointed security minister and be in charge of the national police force; Bezalel Smotrich, a West Bank settler leader who will serve as finance minister; and Avi Maoz, the head of a small anti-LGBT faction who will control parts of Israel’s education system. 

The Biden administration, which has stark differences with Netanyahu on the Iran deal and other issues, has pledged to work closely with the new government. 

“We will gauge the government by the policies it pursues rather than individual personalities. We will hold it to the mutual standards we have established in our relationship over the past seven decades,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said earlier this month. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.