Benjamin Netanyahu forms last-minute coalition government

After six weeks of negotiations and only an hour and a half before the deadline, Benjamin Netanyahu managed to form a coalition government late Wednesday night.  The coalition government formed by the returning prime minister include Netanyahu's own Likud Party (30 seats), the Jewish Home party (8 seats), the Kulanu party (10 seats), the Shas party (7 seats) and finally the United Torah Judaism party (6 seats).

Click below to listen to our correspondant Mark Weiss from Jerusalem:

Sixty plus One

Out of the 120 seats in the Knesset, Netanyahu’s coalition government controls just 61, giving him a majority of just one, after forming the coalition, the Israeli Prime Minister stated ``Sixty-one is a good number, and 61-plus is an even better number, but it starts at 61 and we will begin. We have a lot of work ahead of us.''
Earlier this week, coalition talks were jeopardised when Avigdor Lieberman, the Foreign Minister under the previous government, unexpectedly stepped down and announcing that his secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party would instead join the opposition.

Fourth Term as Prime Minister

After this election and the successful forming of a coalition, it is now Benjamin Netanyahu’s fourth term as Prime Minister of Israel.  However, this coalition has resulted in major concessions being granted to the each of the member parties.  The political makeup of the coalition is conservative leaning and includes two ultra-Orthodox parties, the Shas party and the United Torah Judaism Party, who together control 13 seats.  The two parties have as part of their aim, the reversing of reforms passed by the Netanyahu’s previous government.  The reforms were intended to put a finish to an unpopular system that allowed the ultra-Orthodox to be exempted from compulsory military service, the granting of welfare subsidies to study full-time instead of entering the work force and also a generous budget system for a religious school system that places a minimal emphasis on certain academic subjects like mathematics, English and computer studies.

During the political campaign, Netanyahu also angered the White House when he said that he would not allow the establishment of a Palestinian state on his watch.  While this stance is popular to many in the state of Israel, international observers were dismayed at the thought of a prolonging of the impasse in the region.