By Kevin Zhang
Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in on Thursday in a dramatic return to the position of Israel’s prime minister, after being sworn in as the leader of what many are predicting to be the most right-wing government in Israeli history.
Netanyahu was sworn in for his sixth term in power, 18 months after he was removed from power.
His return is supported by several far-right figures in Israeli politics considered to be on the political fringe, after assembling a coalition shortly before last week’s deadline.
Members of Netanyahu’s Likud party will fill many of the most important cabinet positions, including foreign minister, defense minister, and justice minister.
However, a number of politicians from the Israeli far right are also set to be appointed to ministerial posts.
Itamar Ben Gvir, an extremist who has been convicted for supporting terrorism and inciting anti-Arab rhetoric, is set to take on a newly expanded public security role as the national security minister, which oversees police activity in Israel and the West Bank.
Bezalel Smotrich, leader of the Religious Zionism party, a far-right ultra-religious group, has been named minister of finance, and has also been granted authority to appoint the head of the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), an Israeli military unit which among its duties handles border crossings and permits for Palestinians.
Aryeh Deri, leader of the ultra-Orthodox Sephardi party Shas, has been selected as the minister of interior and minister of health.
Biden administration officials have largely tried to avoid addressing the new ultra-right-wing components of the Israeli government. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last week that the US “will engage with and judge our partners in Israel on the basis of the policies they pursue, not the personalities that happen to form the government.”
