Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in on Thursday as Israel’s prime minister, sealing a remarkable comeback for the veteran leader who will head the most rightwing administration in the country’s history.
His coalition government, made up of Jewish ultranationalist and religious parties, has promised to overhaul the country’s judicial system, accelerate settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and highlight Jewish identity in public life. These and a host of additional plans have already drawn unprecedented criticism from the defence establishment, business community, education system, LGBT+ rights groups, legal officials and other quarters of Israeli society.
Netanyahu’s return for a sixth term as prime minister extends his more than decade-long dominance over Israeli politics after 18 months in opposition. Israel has had five general elections in less than four years, with the most recent last month returning a clear majority for Netanyahu’s coalition, which includes his rightwing Likud party, the Religious Zionism alliance that draws its support from Jewish settlers and two ultra-Orthodox factions.