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Israeli president has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a new unity government after Parliament passed legislations approving details of a power-sharing deal between the his Likud and centrist rival Benny Gantz’s Blue and White parties, ending more than a year of political impasse.
According to a report by news agency, Netanyahu, the longest serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history, will continue at the helm of Israeli politics for at least another 18 months while he fights charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases.
“I hope Israel will soon have a government that will deal successfully with the complex challenges that stand before us,” President Reuven Rivlin said , noting the dual crises of the political stalemate and the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Rivlin granted Netanyahu a two-week mandate on Thursday night to form the government, which would keep the 70-year-old leader in power until November 13, 2021.
Earlier on Thursday, Israel’s Parliament approved amendments to the two basic laws by a hefty majority, paving the way for Netanyahu to form a fully functioning unity government for the first time since December 2018.
The Knesset or Parliament voted by 71 votes to 37 to back the power-sharing deal between Netanyahu’s Likud and his main rival former military chief Gantz’s Blue and White parties.
The next government is likely to be sworn in next week with Netanyahu succeeding to forge a power sharing agreement with rival turned ally Gantz, a former Chief of Staff and leader of the Blue and White party, who split his faction to enter into a rotational deal with the Prime Minister.
Netanyahu would hand over the baton to him after leading the government for the first 18 months.The Jerusalem Post reported.
