Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement Thursday with the far-right religious Zionist party to join a government coalition, while former Israeli chief of staff Gadi Eisenkot threatened millions of protests against "reforms" that Netanyahu's coalition intends to undertake.

Last week, Netanyahu's Likud party signed an alliance agreement with the "Jewish Power" party led by Itamar Ben Gvir, giving the latter the internal security portfolio, as well as with Avi Maoz, the sole representative of the "Noam" party known for its nationalist positions.

Netanyahu's Likud party said Thursday night that the Religious Zionist Party would be given control of the Finance Ministry in rotation, along with other portfolios.

The Israeli Army Radio reported that Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionist Party, will assume the post of Finance Minister at first, before another replaces him according to rotation.

The agreement gives Netanyahu control so far of 46 of the Knesset's 120 seats.

The Likud statement said the religious Zionist party, which opposes the establishment of a Palestinian state and supports the expansion of Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank, would also have authority over Jewish settlement activities there, but only in coordination with Netanyahu.

Netanyahu said that this agreement is another important step that brings us closer to forming a right-wing national government that takes care of all Israeli citizens.

The agreement comes after Netanyahu's right-wing coalition won a comfortable victory in the elections that took place on November 1, the fifth in Israel in less than 4 years.

Negotiations continue

Netanyahu still has to agree with his allies in the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties to form the next government.

Netanyahu has 28 days to form a government, which can be extended by 14 days.

Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime minister in the history of Israel, as he held the position from 1996 to 1999 and then from 2009 to 2021, and it is likely that he will form a government that will be the most right-wing in the history of the Hebrew state.

Smotrich is better known for his nationalist politics than his economic views, and he ran alongside his far-right ally Itamar Ben Gvir, yet they now head separate factions in the Knesset.

Smotrich served briefly in a previous government led by Netanyahu as transportation minister in 2019 and 2020. He advocates fiscal conservative policies such as lowering the debt-to-GDP ratio, and hopes to rein in public sector strikes.

About half a million Jewish settlers live in the occupied West Bank in settlements that the international community considers illegal, and among them, about 200,000 live in occupied East Jerusalem.

The number of settlers has increased more than 4 times since the signing of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, which did not lead to a lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Israel occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip in 1967.

Millionaire threat

In a related context, Gadi Eisenkot, the former Israeli Chief of Staff and a Knesset deputy for the official camp party led by Defense Minister Benny Gantz, threatened millions of protests against the reforms that Netanyahu's coalition intends to undertake.

Eisenkot said - in an interview with the Hebrew news site Ynet - "If Netanyahu harms the national interests of the State of Israel, if he harms Israeli democracy, the education of the state, and the Israeli army as the people's army, the way to deal with him is to take a million people out onto the streets, and I will be among them." .

Officials from the right-wing parties, partners in the government under formation headed by Netanyahu, announced their intention to pass laws related to democracy, education and the army that might harm non-right-wing classes in Israel.

In his interview, Eisenkot spoke of an undisclosed study conducted by an "unspecified security agency" indicating that Jews no longer constitute a majority in Israel, where the non-Jewish population exceeds their number by about 200,000, referring to the area between the sea and the river or historical Palestine.

He made it clear that he does not intend to join Netanyahu's coalition or leave Israeli politics, stressing that he fears that Israel will not continue to exist as he defined it as "democratic and united."