Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu announced late on Wednesday that he had succeeded in forming a new government with his allies in the right-wing camp, minutes before the end of his mandate.
Netanyahu wrote on Twitter minutes before midnight that he had managed to form a government, and a spokesman for Israeli President Isaac Herzog confirmed receiving Netanyahu's announcement by phone.
In a statement he published, Netanyahu said he had sent Herzog the following message: "Thanks to the great public support we received during the last elections, I inform you that I was able to form a government that will work for the benefit of all the citizens of Israel."
The leader of the "Religious Zionism" party, Bezalel Smotrich, had anticipated Netanyahu's announcement, and wrote on Twitter, "Congratulations, we were able (to form a government)."
It is scheduled that the right-wing government will take the oath before the Knesset (parliament) next Monday after the end of what is known as the Jewish holiday of lights (Hanukkah), and thus Netanyahu will succeed the outgoing Prime Minister, Yair Lapid.
For the first time, Netanyahu, 73, held the position of prime minister from 1996 to 1999, and then for 12 consecutive years between 2009 and 2021, and he is the longest serving prime minister in office in Israel.
And after he won with his allies in the legislative elections that took place in early November, Netanyahu had a deadline that expires at 11:59 pm, Wednesday, local time, to inform Herzog that he had succeeded in forming the government.
Netanyahu had previously obtained from Herzog a 28-day deadline to form a government, which was then extended by 10 days.
It is expected that Netanyahu will appoint members of his Likud party, Yoav Gallant, as defense minister, and Yariv Levin (temporary speaker of the Knesset) as justice, while former Israeli ambassador to Washington Ron Dermer, former minister Amir Ohana, and former finance minister Israel Katz are competing for the position of foreign minister.
Maariv newspaper said that the first round of talks that Netanyahu held with members of his party about two weeks ago showed a "complicated revolution of increasing tensions," pointing out that the number of those requesting ministerial portfolios in the party exceeds the number of portfolios remaining for the Likud after coalition negotiations.
Among the upcoming ministers affiliated with the extreme right are the leader of the "Jewish Power" Itamar Ben Gvir, who will take over the national security portfolio, Smotrich, who will receive the finance portfolio, and Aryeh Deri, leader of the Shas party, who will receive the interior portfolio.
Analysts say that this government will be the most right-wing and extremist in the history of Israel.