Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu finalized coalition agreements on Wednesday, as his potential far-right partners offered assurances that they would be of service to all Israelis.

On the other hand, the Palestinian presidency considered Netanyahu's statements regarding the strengthening of settlements a dangerous escalation and a violation of international legitimacy resolutions.

It is expected that the conservative Netanyahu government - whose bloc of nationalist, religious and right-wing parties won by a clear margin in the elections last November - will be sworn in tomorrow, Thursday, to complete his return to the political scene with his record sixth term as prime minister.

The participation of religious Zionism and Jewish power in the ruling coalition raises concern at home and abroad, given the opposition of the leaders of these two parties to the establishment of a Palestinian state, and their incitement against the Arab minority and the Israeli judicial system.

He said Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the religious Zionist party candidate for the position of Minister of Finance, who will supervise the Jewish settlements that it will promote freedoms for all citizens and democratic institutions in the country.

In an opinion article for The Wall Street Journal, Smotrich added that the extreme right in Israel wants to bring it closer to the American liberal model, which he said requires guarantees of freedom of worship and reforms to "balance" the judicial system.

He made it clear that his plan for the settlements does not include changing their political or legal status, while it seemed to be a sign of abandoning previous calls for Israel to annex the West Bank, in a move that would cause diplomatic crises with Washington and the Arab countries.

The US-mediated Israeli-Palestinian peace talks collapsed in 2014, and their revival seems unlikely after the new Israeli government led by Netanyahu made the scene bleaker than it is from the Palestinian point of view.

The period prior to the swearing-in of the new government witnessed an acceleration of the pace of passing legislation to satisfy the partners of the ruling coalition, including a bill expanding the powers of Itamar Ben Gvir, leader of the Jewish Power Party and candidate for the position of Minister of National Security.

Ben Gvir was convicted in 2007 of inciting against Arabs and supporting a banned armed Jewish group, and he recently distanced himself from some of his previous actions, but Israeli President Isaac Herzog - who met Ben Gvir today, Wednesday - reminded him of the existence of growing "concerns" in Israel and among foreign Jews about his assumption of office.

Herzog's office quoted Ben Gvir as saying in a statement that it will enhance the sense of security in the streets for all of us, and that his party and the religious Zionist party have no intention of excluding or harming any sector of society.


Likud ministers

In turn, Benjamin Netanyahu announced the nomination of deputy from the right-wing Likud party, Yoav Gallant, as defense minister in his government, which he will present to the Knesset tomorrow, Thursday, to gain confidence.

Galant was born in Jaffa in 1958. In the past, he served as commander of the southern region in the Israeli army, minister of construction and housing, and minister of immigrant absorption.

The Israeli Prime Minister also announced the appointment of Yoav Kisch as Minister of Education and Haim Katz for Tourism in his new government, according to the official broadcaster.

This is the first time that Kish (56 years old) - a member of the "Likud" party led by Netanyahu - has assumed a ministerial portfolio, but he previously worked as deputy minister of health.

The Israeli newspaper "Yedioth Ahronoth" said that Kish's powers in the Ministry of Education will be limited, pointing out that the responsibility for the external curricula in the ministry has been transferred to the head of the "Noam" party, Avi Maoz, while another minister, Haim Biton of the Shas party, will serve in the ministry.

As for Haim Katz (75 years) - who was chosen as Minister of Tourism - he previously held the position of Minister of Labor, as well as Welfare and Social Services, according to the same source.

Since yesterday evening, Tuesday, Netanyahu - in addition to the coalition agreements with the various parties affiliated with the right-wing camp led by him - began distributing ministerial portfolios in his party, in preparation for taking the constitutional oath tomorrow morning, Thursday.

Netanyahu is expected to announce at a later date additional appointments among Likud members.


Gay speaker of the Knesset

In the same context, the right-wing Likud party - led by Netanyahu - nominated Amir Ohana - a former minister known to be gay - for the position of Speaker of the Knesset, in an unprecedented step.

Ohana, 46, previously held the position of Israeli Minister of Internal Security, and he is a close associate of Netanyahu and a leader in the Likud party. He lives a homosexual life with a young man from Tel Aviv who is the head of the gay group in the Likud party, and they have adopted twins.

And while Netanyahu wrote in a tweet on Twitter, "Good luck to the new speaker of the Knesset, Amir Ohana," the date for the elections for the presidency of the Knesset has not yet been set.

It is not clear whether the choice of Ohana for this position is related to the strong criticism directed by Israeli parties to the next Netanyahu government, after the statements of party leaders in it against homosexuals.

At the end of 2015, Ohana was elected to the Likud Knesset for the first time, and since then he has maintained his seat in the Israeli parliament.


Palestinian concerns

On the other hand, the Palestinian Presidency considered today, Wednesday, Netanyahu's statements regarding the strengthening of settlements, "a dangerous escalation and a violation of international legitimacy decisions."

This came in a statement by the presidential spokesman, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, published by the official Palestinian News Agency (Wafa) in response to Netanyahu's announcement that his prospective government will work to strengthen settlements.

Abu Rudeineh explained that Netanyahu's announcement of the broad lines of his right-wing government to strengthen settlements in the West Bank violates all resolutions of international legitimacy, most notably Resolution No. 2334 issued by the UN Security Council, which confirmed that settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories - including East Jerusalem - are illegal.

He added that the new right-wing Israeli government must realize that without complying with the resolutions of international legitimacy, nothing will be achieved, and that there will not be any settlement left on the lands of the independent state of Palestine.

On the eve of the government's presentation to the Knesset to gain confidence, Netanyahu published, through his account on the Telegram platform, the basic lines of his upcoming ministerial formation, announcing that it would work to strengthen settlements in the West Bank, and recognize the Golan Heights as a strategic area.

In the presidential statement, Abu Rudeineh indicated that without an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, there would be no security or stability in the region.

Abu Rudeineh called on the American administration to turn its words into actions, as it was committed to the two-state solution, and without that there will be no stability in the region.

Netanyahu's announcement confirms local and international fears of an increase in settlement activity under an extreme right-wing government, the first of its kind in Israel, after all left-wing parties failed to secure seats in the Knesset during the elections held in early November.