President Isaac Herzog announced on Friday that he has finished the negotiations with the political parties and will give Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu the mandate to form the government on Sunday.
Netanyahu received 6 recommendations from his right-wing religious bloc (Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Religious Zionism), while outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid nominated 28 MKs (Yesh Atid and Labor) and the remaining 28 (National Unity, Yisrael Beiteinu). Ra’am and Hadash-Ta’al refuse to recommend anyone for office.
After the meetings, Netanyahu was invited to the presidential residence on Sunday, where he will officially receive his mandate. After that, he has 28 days to form a government. The president also has the power to grant Netanyahu a 30-day extension if he requests it.
But Netanyahu seems keen to form a government quickly, and coalition talks have already begun. Talks continued on Friday between Likud and the far-right Otzma Yehudit, one of the three groups that make up Religious Zionism, which held talks as separate groups. A statement from the group noted that the negotiations took place in “good spirit.”
Netanyahu and his team also held talks with other leaders of their bloc this week.
In a meeting with Ben Gvir on Thursday afternoon, Herzog repeated his concerns about the views of the far-right lawmaker, who was a hot topic the day before.
“I said that your party has a certain image that causes concern in many places about the treatment of Arabs in our country and region.
He added, “In the Muslim world, people ask me about the Temple Mount.” “This issue is sensitive.”
The president was heard telling Shas representatives on Wednesday: “You have a problem with the Temple Mount.” “It’s a critical issue,” she added, noting that Ben Gvir, who had requested major changes to the flashpoint holy place, had asked for them.”You have a partner that the whole world is worried about.”
The Faces’ HerzogThursday Ben Gvir replied: “God.” I just came back from Eilat and saw the students of Nazareth High School.
Otzma Yehudit said he was working for the whole country but insisted: “There should be order.”
Regarding the Temple Mount, Ben Gvir told the president that “we are not saying that the Temple Mount is not sacred to others, but we must remember that the Temple Mount is our heart, our history.”
“We are all against racism, and it is impossible to tell a Jew that you cannot go to the Temple Mount because you are Jewish.” “I am for equal rights,” he said.
Ben Gvir and many right-wing politicians have long sought to improve access and control of the Temple Mount, which is largely managed by the Jordanian Waqf. Currently, Jews can visit the site only at certain hours of the day and are not allowed to pray there, although the latter restriction has been increasingly violated in recent years.
But despite the assurances, Ben Gvir has already been reprimanded by the United States for attending Meir Kahane’s memorial service on Thursday night.
“Celebrating the legacy of a terrorist organisation is disgusting.” There is no other word for it. “It’s terrible,” said US State Department spokesman Ned Price when asked at a press conference about his attendance at Ben Gvir’s funeral hours earlier. Price was referring to the Kach group, founded in 1971 by an American-born rabbi, and its successor, Kahane Chai.
Members and supporters of Kach and Kahane Chai have killed, assaulted, or otherwise threatened Arabs, Palestinians, and Israeli government officials. Although the organisation remains illegal in both Israel and the United States, Kach has been inactive since 2005.
Ben Gviri Otzma Yehudit ran on a joint ticket with the religious Zionist and anti-LGBT Noam party, led by Bezalel Smotrich. Slate took first place seats and is the second-largest party in the future coalition after Likud.
After meeting with Otzma Yehudit, Herzog met Noam’s sole representative, MK Avi Maoz, and expressed concern about the lawmaker’s remarks against the LGBT community.
“I think the love of Israel belongs to everyone who lives in this country. What you said about the LGBT community instilled fear. Every person is made in God’s image, and we should respect everyone. We only have one state, Israel. “This also applies to people in your party,” he told Maoz.
Maoz told the president that he was speaking as a representative of his party and said his faction’s first task was to “restore respectful debate.” President Noam has condemned Wednesday’s remarks. Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman accused Maoz of trying to create a “Department of Racial Cleansing” in the government, “He said.
