Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as Israel’s prime minister again on Thursday in a comeback at the head of a conservative cabinet.
The 73-year-old political veteran, who is on trial for graft charges he denies, heads a bloc of conservative and religious parties, which secured a parliamentary majority in a Nov. 1 election after a tumultuous couple of years where no parties were able to consolidate a clear electoral victory, leading to a number of repeated elections.
Netanyahu’s allies include the Religious Zionism and Jewish Power parties, which oppose Palestinian statehood and whose leaders—both West Bank settlers—have resisted efforts at transforming the state.
Netanyahu has repeatedly pledged to promote tolerance and pursue peace. He told parliament that “ending the Israeli-Arab conflict” was his top priority, along with thwarting Iran’s nuclear programme and building up Israel’s military capacity.
His government secured 63 of a possible 120 parliamentary votes in a confirmatory ballot before the cabinet was sworn in.
Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party said in its guidelines for the government that it would “promote and develop settlement” on lands to which “the Jewish people has an exclusive and unassailable right.”
“These guidelines constitute a dangerous escalation and will have repercussions for the region,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesperson for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said.
The U.S. ambassador to Israel congratulated Netanyahu on getting sworn in, saying on Twitter: “Here’s to the rock solid U.S.-Israel relationship and unbreakable ties.”
6th Term
Netanyahu, now entering his sixth term, says he will serve all Israelis. He also appears to have stopped short of seeking West Bank annexations—a policy he had previously championed.
He was previously prime minister for three years in the 1990s and from 2009 to 2021, and he has said he seeks a breakthrough in forming diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia as he did in 2020 with other Gulf states in establishing the Abraham Accords. Both Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states share Israel’s concerns about Iran.
Riyadh has so far signaled no change in its position that any progress with Israel was contingent on Palestinian statehood. Ties between the two nations have however improved. In the summer, Saudi Arabia allowed for the first time overflights by Israeli aircraft.
Reuters contributed to this report.
