Incoming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announced that he has formed a coalition government Wednesday as the last hurdles are being worked out ahead of the midnight deadline.
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On Monday, the Knesset passed a new law, making it harder for lawmakers to dissent from their parties. It now requires a full third of the party to fracture off to make the move legal – up from just four MKs. Still complicating matters are legislative demands from Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir for more power over police matters. That is to be voted on as early as Tuesday.
The mandate given to Netanyahu by President Isaac Herzog expires Wednesday at midnight (technically Thursday, Dec. 22), although Netanyahu could ask for another four days, which would represent a second extension.
The negotiation process has thus far lasted for over six weeks with the Likud party reportedly sealing deals with most of the right-wing religious parties, but no official announcements have been made yet. An agreement was still in the works with United Torah Judaism and its leader Yitzhak Goldknopf.
Four policy demands have played an important part of the coalition talks. The right-wing bloc negotiating with Netanyahu's Likud have said that they will not join the government unless these policies are passed. One of these was the law passed on Monday making it harder for breakaways. Then there is the so-called "Ben-Gvir law" giving the Otzma Yehudit leader more power over the police.
There is also the so-called "Deri law," which would allow for Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas party leader Aryeh Deri to become a minister in the new government despite a previous tax fraud concition. Finally, there is a law that would give Religious Zionist Party leader Bezalel Smotrich more power over Judea and Samaria policies.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
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