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JERUSALEM (AP) — Benjamin Netanyahu connected Thursday returned to powerfulness for an unprecedented sixth word arsenic Israel’s premier minister, taking the helm of the astir right-wing and religiously blimpish authorities successful the country’s 74-year history.
The swearing-in ceremonial capped a singular comeback for Netanyahu, who was ousted past twelvemonth aft 12 consecutive years successful power. But helium faces numerous challenges, starring an confederation of spiritual and far-right parties that could origin home and determination turmoil and alienate Israel’s closest allies.
His caller authorities has pledged to prioritize colony enlargement successful the occupied West Bank, widen monolithic subsidies to his ultra-Orthodox allies and propulsion for sweeping betterment of the judicial strategy that critics accidental could endanger the country’s antiauthoritarian institutions. The plans person sparked an uproar successful Israeli society, prompting disapproval from the military, LGBTQ rights groups, the concern assemblage and others, and raised concerns abroad.
In a stormy parliamentary league earlier his swearing in, the combative Netanyahu took purpose astatine his critics, accusing the absorption of trying to scare the public.
“I perceive the changeless cries of the absorption astir the extremity of the state and democracy,” Netanyahu said from the podium. “Opposition members: to suffer successful elections is not the extremity of democracy, this is the essence of democracy.”
His code was interrupted repeatedly by boos and jeers from his opponents, who chanted “weak, weak” — an evident notation to the galore concessions helium made to his caller governing partners.
Later, Netanyahu held a little gathering with his caller Cabinet, saying his priorities would see halting Iran’s atomic program, strengthening instrumentality and bid and combatting the country’s precocious outgo of living, and expanding Israel’s burgeoning relations with the Arab world.
“I americium affectional due to the fact that of the large spot the radical of Israel gave us,” helium told the ministers, adding that helium was excited to enactment with the “excellent team” helium has assembled. “Let’s get to work.”
Netanyahu is the country’s longest serving premier minister, having held bureau for a full of 15 years, including a stint successful the 1990s. After 4 consecutive inconclusive elections, helium was ousted past twelvemonth by a conjugation of 8 ideologically divers parties agreed by small much than their absorption to his rule.
That conjugation collapsed successful June, and Netanyahu and his ultranationalist and ultra-Orthodox allies secured a wide parliamentary bulk successful November’s election.
The state remains profoundly divided implicit Netanyahu, who remains connected proceedings for charges of fraud, breach of spot and accepting bribes successful 3 corruption cases. He denies each charges, saying helium is the unfortunate of a witch hunt orchestrated by a hostile media, constabulary and prosecutors.
Netanyahu present heads a authorities comprised of a hard-line spiritual ultranationalist enactment dominated by West Bank settlers, 2 ultra-Orthodox parties and his nationalist Likud party. They person endorsed a acceptable of guidelines and conjugation agreements that spell acold beyond the goals helium outlined connected Thursday and, immoderate say, hazard imperiling Israel’s antiauthoritarian institutions and deepening the struggle with the Palestinians.
Long a hard-liner toward the Palestinians, Netanyahu already is simply a beardown proponent of Israel’s West Bank settlements. That is lone expected to beryllium kicked into overdrive nether the caller government. Netanyahu has created a peculiar ministerial station giving a firebrand settler person wide authorization implicit colony policies. The coalition’s level says that “the Jewish radical person exclusive and indisputable rights” implicit the entirety of Israel and the Palestinian territories and promises to marque colony enlargement a apical priority.
That includes legalizing dozens of wildcat outposts and a committedness to annex the full territory, a measurement that would snuff retired immoderate remaining hopes for Palestinian statehood and gully dense planetary opposition.
Israel captured the West Bank successful 1967 on with the Gaza Strip and eastbound Jerusalem — territories the Palestinians question for a aboriginal state. Israel has constructed dozens of Jewish settlements that are location to astir 500,000 Israelis who unrecorded alongside astir 2.5 cardinal Palestinians.
Most of the planetary assemblage considers Israel’s West Bank settlements amerciable and an obstacle to bid with the Palestinians. The United States already has warned the incoming authorities against taking steps that could further undermine hopes for an autarkic Palestinian state.
President Joe Biden connected Thursday called Netanyahu his “friend for decades” and said helium looked guardant to moving with him “to jointly code the galore challenges and opportunities facing Israel and the Middle East region, including threats from Iran.”
But, Biden warned, the U.S. volition “continue to enactment the 2 authorities solution and to reason policies that endanger its viability oregon contradict our communal interests and values.”
At home, the caller authorities has alarmed good-governance groups with its plans to overhaul the ineligible strategy — including a connection that would curb the powerfulness of the autarkic judiciary by allowing parliament to overturn Supreme Court rulings. Critics accidental this volition destruct the country’s strategy of checks and balances and wide the mode for Netanyahu’s transgression proceedings to beryllium dismissed.
There are besides concerns astir the rollback of number and LGBTQ rights. Members of the Religious Zionism enactment said they would an beforehand an amendment to the country’s anti-discrimination instrumentality that would allow businesses and doctors to discriminate against the LGBTQ assemblage connected the ground of spiritual faith.
Outside parliament, respective 1000 demonstrators waved Israeli and rainbow cheery pridefulness flags. “We don’t privation fascists successful the Knesset!” they chanted. Crowds of LGBTQ supporters shouting “Shame!” blocked the entranceway to a large intersection and road successful Tel Aviv.
Netanyahu has promised helium volition support minorities and LGBTQ rights. Amir Ohana, a Netanyahu loyalist, was voted successful arsenic the archetypal openly cheery talker of parliament connected Thursday arsenic his spouse and their 2 children watched from the audience.
Onstage, Ohana turned to them and promised the caller authorities would respect everyone. “This Knesset, nether the enactment of this speaker, won’t wounded them oregon immoderate kid oregon immoderate different family, period,” helium said.
LGBTQ groups welcomed Ohana’s appointment, but fearfulness the caller authorities is utilizing his assignment arsenic a smokescreen to reverse gains the assemblage has made successful caller years.
Yair Lapid, the outgoing premier curate who is present successful the station of absorption leader, told parliament that helium was handing the caller authorities “a state successful fantabulous condition, with a beardown economy, with improved antiaircraft abilities and beardown deterrence, with 1 of the champion planetary standings ever.”
“Try not to destruct it. We’ll beryllium backmost soon,” Lapid said.
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Associated Press writers Ilan Ben Zion successful Jerusalem and Darlene Superville successful Kingshill, U.S. Virgin Islands, contributed to this report.
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