It was the longest political crisis in modern Israeli history. After 500 days of crisis and three elections without a knockout, the Israeli parliament on Sunday gave its blessing to the unity government of Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz.
But the bubbles of champagne that had barely been sabotaged could quickly fall because this government inherited an economy that had been shattered by the coronavirus crisis and had to decide on a project to annex sections of the occupied West Bank, an explosive subject.
Rififi in the "Bibi" camp
On Thursday, witnesses were ready, but the newlyweds did not show up for the Knesset, Parliament. In question: the rififi in the camp of "Bibi", nickname of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The ceremony was postponed to Sunday to allow the Prime Minister's camp to distribute his portfolios with discussions on this subject until morning. "The people want a unity government and that is what they will have today," said Banjamin Netanyahu, before the confidence vote.
In the Knesset, where the Gantz and Netanyahu camps have a majority, 73 deputies voted for the government, 12 more than the majority threshold. This special session was marked by deputies with their faces barred by sanitary masks, blue or white, the colors of the Israeli flag.
What agreement?
The agreement between the Likud (right) of Benajmin Netanyahu and the centrist “Bleu-Blanc” formation of his ex-electoral rival Benny Gantz provides for a fair division of the ministries and allows each camp to redistribute posts to their political allies.
This caused a congestion problem for Likud, which obtained the most seats in the last elections and counts on the support of elected members of the radical right and ultra-Orthodox parties.
And ultimately with a total of 36 ministers, this government will be the largest government in the country's history, a paradox in the midst of an economic crisis linked to the pandemic, deplores part of the Israeli press.
Under the terms of the agreement, Benjamin Netanyahu remains prime minister for 18 months before giving up his seat for a period equivalent to Benny Gantz.
268 Covid-19 deaths
This government of "unity and emergency" had been promised in particular to defend Israel against the Covid-19 pandemic which officially infected more than 16,500 people, including 268 deaths.
The country of about nine million inhabitants began deconfinement by reopening the majority of shops and schools, but maintaining the obligation to wear a mask.
The challenge is twofold for the government: to put back on track an economy which saw its technical unemployment rate jump from 3.4% to 27% due to the crisis, while avoiding a second wave of contamination.
The problem of the colonies
The government must also examine the implementation of the American project for the Middle East, which provides for the annexation by Israel of the Jordan Valley and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory occupied since 1967. "These territories are where the Jewish people were born and raised. It is time to write a glorious new chapter in the history of Zionism, "Benjamin Netanyahu told parliamentarians in reference to the annexation of the colonies.
Over the past decade, the population of Jewish settlements in the West Bank has jumped 50% to more than 450,000 people, often living under stress, with more than 2.7 million Palestinians.
Some in government, such as Benny Gantz, however, appear wary of the annexation. The latter did not say anything about it on Sunday in the Knesset.
Disapproval around the world
The Palestinians and neighboring Jordan have already warned of the consequences of such a project. Most countries in the European Union also want to convince Israel to give it up to avoid having to punish that country. "If Israel really annexed (swathes of) the West Bank in July, it would lead to a major conflict with the Jordanian kingdom," warned King Abdullah II of Jordan in an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel .
The government must present from July 1 its specific strategy on this issue. By then, Israel could experience a new soap opera, that one, with the opening scheduled for May 24 of the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The longest-serving head of government in Israeli history will be the first to be tried for corruption during his tenure. Unless the hearing is postponed.
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