Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced, Thursday, that “confronting Iran” will be the first goal of his new government, after it was sworn in before the Knesset.
This came during a speech Netanyahu delivered at the beginning of the first ministerial session of the 37th government, according to a statement issued by his office.
During the first session of the new government, Netanyahu stated: “We have four main goals that I set today. The first is to confront Iran, and this is an existential matter, and we will take care of our existence and security. The second is to restore security and governance within the State of Israel. The third is to address the problem of living costs and housing, and the fourth is to greatly expand the circle of peace.”
Earlier Thursday, the Knesset granted confidence to the Netanyahu government by 63 votes from its members, against the opposition of 54 others (out of 120), before it was sworn in.
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The parties that make up the government have 64 Knesset seats, without clarifying the reason for the absence of that member, while two of the opposition were also absent for unknown reasons.
Netanyahu declared, “This is the sixth time that I form a government (…) I can say that I am starting my sixteenth year as prime minister of Israel.”
Netanyahu succeeds centrist Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, who became opposition leader.
The government consists of 6 right-wing parties, namely “Likud”, “Shas”, “United Torah Judaism”, “Noam”, “Religious Zionism” and “Jewish Power”, and the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation (official) says that this new government is the most right-wing in the history of country.
The government discussion session, which lasted several hours, witnessed an exchange of accusations between the Netanyahu camp and the opposition camp.