Israeli President Yitzhak Herzog on Sunday officially instructed right-wing leader Benjamin Netanyahu to form a government, the Jerusalem Post reported.
Netanyahu arrived at the Duke’s official residence on Sunday, where the official handover ceremony took place.
Now Netanyahu has 28 days to form a new government in the country. If he fails to complete the task on time, he may ask for an additional 14 days. If he fails to meet the extra time, then the president can transfer the mandate to another candidate.
However, with a high probability, Netanyahu will be able to achieve the approval of parliamentarians – there are 120 seats in the Knesset, among them the bloc of right-wing and religious parties has 64 mandates. The approval of 61 deputies is required for the Knesset to approve the composition of the government. Just 64 deputies recommended President Herzog to give a mandate to Netanyahu, and not to another candidate.
The fact that the mandate will receive Netanyahu, it became known earlier this week. He was in opposition for about a year and a half, but in the November 1 elections, his Likud party won the majority of votes, and together with other right-wing parties, he managed to win an advantage over the left that came to power in the previous elections.
The opposition Likud party and its partners in Israel’s right-wing bloc may win a parliamentary majority in Israel’s parliamentary elections, The Jerusalem Post reports, citing polling results at the exit from polling stations.
Netanyahu’s bloc, which includes the Likud, the Religious Zionists, the single list of ultra-Orthodox parties Yahadut HaTorah and the ultra-religious Shas, can win 61 seats out of 120, according to exit polls. The Times of Israel predicts that the bloc Netanyahu will have 61-62 seats, Channel 12 predicts that the Netanyahu bloc will have 61 seats, Channel 13 – 62 seats, while the bloc of current Prime Minister Yair Lapid, according to the exit polls of these two channels, has 54-55 seats.
According to the Channel 12 exit poll, the Likud party, led by Netanyahu, could get 30 seats. According to the Channel 13 exit poll, Likud could win 31 seats. Lapid’s Yesh Atid party won 24 seats, according to exit polls from both channels.
However, the balance of power after the counting of all votes may still change, but the Israeli media is generally inclined to believe that, following the results of the current elections, Netanyahu may be able to regain power and become the head of government again. The final results will be known in the coming days, but by Wednesday morning, with the exception of some details, it will already be clear what the balance of power in the 25th Knesset will be, media say.
Polling stations in Israel closed at 22:00 (22:00 Kyiv time). The Israelis elected a new unicameral parliament, the Knesset.
The Ukrainian authorities have offered Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to become a mediator during the negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, Ukrainian Ambassador to Israel Yevhen Korniychuk said on the Israeli TV channel i24NEWS.
The diplomat explained that this decision is due to the fact that Netanyahu has good relations with both President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
“I am glad to report that the prime minister did not say no. He said that he would try to do everything in his power. We are glad that Mr. Netanyahu did not reject this mission, but on the contrary, he showed his interest and willingness to help,” noted Korniychuk.
As reported earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for the expansion of friendship and cooperation with Ukraine.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will hold an official meeting in Kyiv on August 19 and sign Ukrainian-Israeli documents, the press service of the head of Ukrainian state has reported. The meeting at the Mariyinsky Palace will begin at 10:30, after which a document signing ceremony will take place at 12:45.
Statements by Zelensky and Netanyahu for the media are scheduled at 13:00.
In addition, at 15:20, the president of Ukraine and the premier of Israel will take part in events to pay tribute to the victims of the Babyn Yar tragedy.
