The next prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is expected to announce on Wednesday that he has put together a coalition government. He has until midnight to get enough support to become the new leader of the country.
By the end of December 21, the 73-year-old is expected to let President Isaac Herzog know whether he has the 61 or more seats required to appoint a new government in the 120-seat Knesset.
According to sources close to Netanyahu, the former premier wants to have his new coalition government, which includes far-right parties, sworn in before the new year. The event would ideally take place on Wednesday or Thursday next week, according to Haaretz.
So that the swearing-in event wouldn’t have to wait until the new year, sources were quoted as saying that moving the date up before the deadline was meant to be symbolic.
After winning the most seats of any party in the November elections with 32 seats, the Israeli president has already granted Netanyahu’s Likud party a 10-day extension to form a coalition.
They might ask for an extra four days, but rumors have it that they won’t.
Netanyahu has up to seven days to hold the swearing-in ceremony after telling Herzog and the speaker of the Knesset, Yariv Levin, about the alliance. Given that the Knesset won’t meet until the following Monday due to the holidays, the seven-day clock will probably begin on that day.
While they argue about which ministries will be run by the new coalition, Likud and its far-right partners have already passed a number of controversial laws through the Knesset.
This includes the “Derby bill,” which would change the constitution’s fundamental rule so that only those who have served prison sentences are prohibited from holding the office of minister. As a result, despite having been found guilty and receiving a suspended prison sentence, Shas leader Arye Dery could be chosen as a cabinet minister.
There is also the infamous “Ben-Gvir bill,” which would give Itamar Ben-Gvir, the far-right National Security Minister-designate, police chief authority.
Ben-Gvir is known for his support of Israeli terrorists, his approval of hate speech against Arabs and Palestinians, and his leadership of settler marches through Palestinian neighborhoods in occupied East Jerusalem.
The next government of Israel, which will be led by Netanyahu, is expected to be the most conservative one ever.
