Netanyahu of Israel claims to have reached an agreement to form a new government.

Netanyahu of Israel claims to have reached an agreement to form a new government.

 

Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said on Wednesday he had secured a deal to form a new government after weeks of unexpectedly tough negotiations with religious and far-right coalition partners.

 

‘I have managed (to form a government),’ Netanyahu said on Twitter, minutes before a midnight deadline set by President Isaac Herzog. A Herzog spokesperson confirmed that Netanyahu’s statement had been received.

 

In a Nov. 1 election, Netanyahu’s conservative Likud party and other religious-nationalist parties close to the ultra-Orthodox and West Bank settler communities won a comfortable majority, guaranteeing him 64 of parliament’s 120 seats.

 

However, agreement to form a government was hampered by disagreements over a package of proposed legislation ranging from West Bank planning authority to ministerial control over the police.

 

The new government, which Netanyahu must now present within a week, will take office after a year in which the West Bank experienced the highest levels of violence in more than a decade, with more than 150 Palestinians and more than 20 Israelis killed.

 

A stable government would be a welcome change after a turbulent period that saw Israelis vote five times in less than four years. However, the coalition may still face significant internal tensions after weeks of wrangling.