It took weeks, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found enough common ground with coalition members Thursday to form a new government.
The three coalition players signed the deal, but a formal announcement has yet to be made, a spokeswoman for the Yesh Atid party told The Associated Press. The new government could be sworn in as early as Monday — just two days before President Obama is scheduled to make his first visit to the country, CBS reports.
CBS reports the priority with the next government will likely be domestic issues, rather than Palestinian peace deals.
The coalition includes Mr. Netanyahu’s conservative Likud-Yisrael Beitenu and two comparatively new parties: Yesh Atid was formed by an ex-television personality, Yair Lapid, and The Jewish Home, which is led by techie millionaire Naftali Bennett.
Mr. Netanyahu’s majority party will keep control of Defense and Interior. Mr. Lapid will control Finance and Education. And The Jewish House will control Housing and Trade, CBS reports.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
By Elaine Donnelly
Extending sexual misconduct to combat units
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Columns from Voices around the World talking about the events, people, politics and social issues that concern us wherever, and whoever, we are.
Video reviews of today's hottest trends in Minecraft (servers and mods) along with a look at the latest video games with your host MCairsoft14 (alias Jerad Zad).
Covering the world of soccer, including the World Cup, Major League Soccer, D.C. United and the English Premier League and other interesting sporting events.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
13 Photos
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
18 Photos
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
11 Photos
NRA kicks off annual convention
8 Photos
