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Israel’s new unity government will take office on Sunday, following an agreement by rivals Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz to end a political deadlock that has dragged on for more than 500 days.
The ceremony, originally scheduled for Thursday night, was postponed hours before it was due to take place after Netanyahu requested additional time to assign ministerial portfolios. Gantz accepted the request, the two sides said.
Under the power-sharing agreement, Netanyahu, currently interim leader, will remain in office for 18 months before handing him over to Gantz, a former army chief, for the remainder of a three-year period.
The deal foresees a massive 32-cabinet cabinet, to grow to 36 members in six months, the largest in the country’s history, in part to meet the demands of multiple divergent parties within the coalition that have little in common.
Netanyahu’s The Blue and White parties of Likud and Gantz published the new government’s joint policy principles on Wednesday, declaring that they would initially form an emergency cabinet to deal with the coronavirus crisis before moving on to different matters.
Despite fighting in three brutal elections within a year, as well as multiple unsuccessful attempts to reach a compromise, the two men agreed to a deal last month.
Gantz, who entered politics two years ago primarily on the promise of expelling Netanyahu, argued that the pandemic and the urgent need to end the political crisis meant that it was time to put aside “personal scores.” Without a fully functioning government, Israel has been unable to pass a budget.
As he managed to break the impasse, Gantz watched his Blue and White party split with resentment at having joined his nemesis, Netanyahu, who faces three damning cases of criminal corruption.
For Netanyahu, Israel’s oldest leader, the deal was a surprising change after it seemed to be declining in recent weeks under the strain of the charges, which he denies. He is now likely to remain in office during his next corruption trial.
Gantz will serve as defense minister before taking over as prime minister in November 2021.
Writing in the country’s best-selling newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, columnist Ben-Dror Yemini, said the new administration was “very far from what most Israelis would consider to be the government of their dreams.”
“It is inflated, it is a waste and it is not clear if it has any ideology,” he wrote, before adding below: “However, we must wish for the success of this government.”
