Jerusalem – Members of Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, were sworn in on Tuesday, three weeks after a tumultuous national election.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin delivered a message of national unity to the 120 members of parliament ahead of the swearing in ceremony in Jerusalem, calling upon them “to fight for our common home where secular, religious, ultra-Orthodox, Jews and Arabs … right and left can find themselves equal.”
He urged them to “put down the cudgels of elections and to clean up the mess” after the “difficult election campaign” that saw Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prevail.
The new parliament includes 49 new lawmakers, including many fresh faces from Netanyahu’s main rival Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party. The Knesset features only 29 female members, fewer than the previous parliament, but includes the first female member of the country’s Druze religious minority.
Netanyahu has been tasked with building a governing coalition after his Likud party and its ultra-Orthodox and nationalist allies won a 65-seat majority.
Simultaneously, the long-serving premier faces an upcoming hearing with the attorney general over a battery of corruption allegations.
Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has recommended charging Netanyahu with bribery, breach of trust and fraud in three cases. Mandelblit will decide whether or not to indict Netanyahu after the hearing, which will take place no later than mid-July.
Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing and has called the charges the product of a media-orchestrated witch hunt to depose him.
If Netanyahu succeeds in building a government, he will commence his fourth consecutive term as prime minister, and his fifth overall. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the inauguration, Netanyahu said the possibility of a future sixth term as prime minister “rested in the hands of the nation.”
“So long as the public wants me to serve it, and so long as I can serve it, I will continue to serve it,” Netanyahu said.
did ahmed tibi swear to uphold the medina? why not draft so called Israeli arabs into the army only racists would oppose that, and remember only Kahane is a racist according to the libeals.
We all agree that Bibi is not ideal for frum torah jews. But at the end of the day Bibi is our best option so that our frum lifestyle thrives and mosdos grow in EY. This is why many frum torah jews support Bibi and Trump. We support the best possible outcome of people who enable us to thrive and grow. (Obviously it would be ideal for frum people to be PM but its not happening)