In Israel, a new government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in before parliament.
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“All the new ministers of the 37th government of Israel have already been sworn in, and today’s Knesset meeting has ended,” the local media said.
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Netanyahu served as Israeli prime minister from 1996-1999 and 2009-2021.
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His predecessor, Yair Lapid, left the Knesset meeting without shaking hands with the new head of government.
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On the eve of the Likud party and the ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah signed a final coalition agreement. Later, the signing of the document was announced by the Religious Zionist Party, Shas, Jewish Power and Noam. After that, Netanyahu turned to his party – Likud – and thanked her “for the significant joint efforts that led us to this day.”
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As a result of early elections to the 25th Knesset on November 1, the Likud party won first place. These elections were the fifth in a row in three and a half years. During this period, none of the winning parties was able to create a viable government based on a parliamentary majority.
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Following the results of the parliamentary elections of the 25th convocation, President Yitzhak Herzog entrusted the task of forming a new government to Netanyahu. The mandate originally expired on 11 December, but was later extended by the Duke for ten days.