Netanyahu's efforts to form the Israeli government faltered

The next government may be the most right-wing in the history of Israel.

Reuters

Efforts by Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu to quickly form his government faltered yesterday, after a potential far-right coalition partner demanded the position of defense minister in the government.

The victory of the right by a clear majority in the elections that took place on the first of November, and ended nearly four years of political stalemate, raised the ceiling of expectations within the conservative Likud party led by Netanyahu to conclude quick alliances with the religious-nationalist parties that share the party's ideas and orientations.

However, divisions emerged between Likud and the Religious Zionist Party, whose hard-line leaders oppose the establishment of a Palestinian state and call for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, views that directly contradict the directions of successive US administrations.

The party's deputies demand that the party's leader, Bezalel Smotrich, assume the position of defense minister so that the party can influence policy related to the West Bank, while the Likud party demands at the same time to keep the high position.

Likud MP Miki Zohar told Kan radio: “There are still discrepancies and disagreements regarding Smotrich.

And I hope that the matter will be resolved soon, ”noting that the defense portfolio is the most important for the Likud.

It seems that the next government will be the most right-wing in the history of Israel, and this will put Netanyahu under pressure to maintain the diplomatic balance between his coalition and his Western allies.

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