New Israeli government finally sworn in after power-sharing deal struck

Benjamin Netanyahu’s new unity government has finally been sworn into power – after three deadlocked and divisive Israeli elections, 18 months of political paralysis, and a further three-day delay due to his party’s infighting over cabinet posts.

The Likud leader and his rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz, a former military chief, announced their appointments for the new government on Sunday. With an expected 36 ministers and 16 deputies, it will be the most bloated front bench in Israeli political history.

The pair decided in April to set aside their differences to steer the country through the coronavirus crisis and resulting economic chaos, agreeing a power-sharing deal that will see Mr Netanyahu govern for the first 18 months and Mr Gantz take over for the second.

But opponents fear the newly created “alternate prime minister” position could allow Israel’s longest-standing leader to remain in office after the swap and throughout his looming corruption trial, which starts next week.

There are also deep suspicions about whether Mr Netanyahu will maintain his side of the bargain and ultimately cede control to Mr Gantz.

The agreement also paves the way for Mr Netanyahu to push forward with plans to extend Jewish settlements and the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank – territory captured by Israel in 1967 which Palestinians want for their own independent state.

“These regions are where the Jewish nation was born and rose,” he told the Knesset on Sunday. “It is time to apply Israeli law on them and write another great chapter in the annals of Zionism.”

His nationalist base is eager to push for annexation ahead of planned US elections in November, at which point Donald Trump – whom he has dubbed “the greatest friend Israel has ever had in the White House” – could be replaced by another who opposes unilateral annexation.

Palestinians have urged international sanctions against Israel in response to such a move, with the Palestinian foreign ministry saying: “These colonial and expansionist positions confirm once again his ideological enmity towards peace.”

Mr Netanyahu plans to begin cabinet discussions on the issue on 1 July, by which point criminal trials over his conduct in office will be well underway.

The 70-year-old has been indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes, in a series of scandals involving allegedly trading favours with wealthy media moguls.

He denies any wrongdoing and claims the charges – a central issue in recent election campaigns, and weaponised by Mr Gantz before their truce – are a media-orchestrated plot to oust him.

The newly created position of “alternate prime minister” offers exemption from a law requiring all public officials, except the premier, to resign if charged with a crime.

But with unemployment soaring to 25 per cent, the role is far from the only new government position that political opponents have taken exception to.

The power-sharing deal will see Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gantz’s blocs receive a similar number of ministers and virtual veto power over the other’s major decisions.

Initially unable to keep senior Likud figures happy amid limited ministerial positions, Mr Netanyahu faced a mini-insurgency from angry party members, delaying the swearing-in ceremony, which had been planned for Thursday.

In a bid to stem the crisis, he created a series of new, questionable ministries, such as “community development”, “settlement affairs” and “higher education and water resources”.

Presumptive opposition leader Yair Lapid said the events had damaged the “trust of the Israeli public”, and took aim at the new leaders’ use of the pandemic as justification for the power-sharing deal.

“The coronavirus is an excuse for a corrupt party at the expense of the taxpayer,” Mr Lapid said.

“After all the empty talk of an ‘emergency government’, the government being formed today is the largest and most wasteful in the history of the country.

“It’s not just the waste, it’s the contempt. The complete contempt for the crisis facing the Israeli public.”

Mr Lapid and Mr Gantz had previously been allies, but their partnership collapsed after Mr Gantz abandoned his central pledge not to serve under Mr Netanyahu due to the looming criminal trial.

Rowing back on this pledge and splitting his own centrist Blue and White party in the process, Mr Gantz had argued that teaming up with Mr Netanyahu offered the country its only way out of stalemate at a time of crisis.

In his speech to parliament, Mr Netanyahu also acknowledged that compromises had been made, but said a fourth election would have been far more devastating alternative, after more than 500 days of political upheaval.

“The public wants a unity government and this is what the public is getting today,” he said. “We chose to serve the country together.”

Additional reporting by agencies