"Many challenges are ahead of us. The citizens of Israel are looking at us to restore stability and get the state back to working for the public," prime minister-designate Naftali Bennett told Israel Hayom on Thursday.
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Heading into the final weekend before he is sworn in as premier next week, Bennett promised: "This will be a government that works for the entire Israeli public – religious, secular, Haredi, Arabs – absolutely everyone, as one; a government that works together, out of a sense of partnership and national responsibility, and I believe we will do just that and succeed."
Meanwhile, preparations are being finalized inside the Knesset for the festive swearing-in ceremony. At 4 p.m. on Sunday, a special plenum session will convene to inaugurate the 36th government and elect a new Knesset Speaker. President Reuven Rivlin will be in attendance, along with Supreme Court President Esther Hayut. Knesset Secretary Yardena Meller-Horowitz will welcome the president to the plenum, and the members of Knesset and other invited guests will rise to their feet in a show of respect. The Knesset Speaker will invite the prime minister-designate to the podium to present his government, detail its basic outlines, the make-up of the coalition and the distribution of ministerial portfolios.
It will then be the turn of the designated alternate premier, Yair Lapid, to address the plenum, followed by the leader of the largest party that is not part of the government coalition.
Following the speeches, a debate will commence in which each faction will receive nine minutes to address the plenum. Upon its conclusion, the next Knesset Speaker will be elected, and he will take the podium to lead the remainder of the proceedings: a confidence vote in the incoming government, and oaths of office by the prime minister, alternate prime minister and ministers.
'An orderly transfer of power'
In the meantime, the political machine is not stopping for a moment. On Friday, representatives of the Bennett-Lapid government are expected to present the coalition agreements.
According to law, the prospective government is supposed to publish these agreements 24 hours before the government is inaugurated, but because the swearing-in ceremony is on Sunday, they will likely present them on Friday.
On Thursday, the Likud issued a statement to clarify that the transfer of power will be done in an orderly fashion. "There is no question whatsoever regarding the orderly transfer of power," the statement said. "Transfer of power has always been orderly in Israel and always will be."
On Thursday night, some details about the various coalition agreements were officially published for the first time. The first such agreement, with Meretz, comprises 27 clauses, including the portfolios earmarked for the left-wing party – the Health Ministry (Nitzan Horowitz), Environmental Protection Ministry (Tamar Zandberg), Regional Cooperation Ministry (Esawi Frej); along with the chairs of the Immigration, Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, a Foreign Affairs and Defense subcommittee, and the Special Committee for the Israeli Citizens' Fund. The deal also states that the next government will advance LGBTQ rights in Israel, allow public transportation on Shabbat, and abolish the "supermarkets law" that limits commerce on Shabbat. However, this likely won't happen as the coalition deal with Yamina obligates all the parties in the coalition and Yamina's coalition agreement makes no mention of the aforementioned legislative initiatives.
The Meretz agreement, meanwhile, includes a clause that also appears in the agreements with Labor and Yisrael Beytenu, whereby no parties can be added to the coalition without their consent, which in all likelihood shuts the door on any of the Haredi parties joining the coalition at some point.
28 ministers and six deputies
Some of the coalition agreements had already been published earlier in the week. Despite Lapid's campaign promise to reduce the number of ministers to 18, the incoming government will be the third-largest in Israel's history. It will consist of 26 ministers and six deputy ministers. Additionally, the quota for the controversial Norweigan law – which stipulates that a minister may step down from his position, allowing for another member of his party to take his place while maintaining his position in the government – will be increased from two in the outgoing government to three, four and even five, depending on the size of the party.
Particularly controversial clauses appear in the agreements with the Arab Ra'am party, whereby Bennett and Lapid will petition the attorney general to abolish monetary fines for illegal construction and extend the freeze on demolitions of homes in the Negev for up to nine months. For the first time ever, meanwhile, there will be a deputy minister from an Arab party in the Prime Minister's Office, and tens of billions of shekels will be allocated to the Arab sector. Additionally, Ra'am chairman Mansour Abbas will receive half a billion shekels to allocate however he deems fit.
The agreement with the Labor party includes the establishment of a Jewish renewal department in the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs – which will essentially be used to promote the Reform movement in Israel.
The deal with Gideon Sa'ar includes a plan to split the authorities of the attorney general and to establish a new administration to monitor Palestinian construction in Area C.
With the Blue and White party, it was agreed that party chairman Benny Gantz will also serve as deputy prime minister and that a state commission of inquiry will be established to investigate the Mount Meron disaster.
The cabinet will comprise 12 ministers, with equal representation for both blocs – right and left – although Avigdor Lieberman's views on security are hawkish in nature which therefore gives the cabinet a right-wing majority.
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