Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday outlined his government’s program to be sworn in on Thursday, emphasizing the expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“The Jewish people have an exclusive and inalienable right to all parts of the Land of Israel. The government will encourage and develop settlement in all parts of the land of Israel – in the Galilee, the Negev, the Golan Heights, Judea and Samaria of Mr. Netanyahu, winner with his ultra-Orthodox and extreme right allies of the legislative elections of November 1st.
“Strengthen the security forces”
The statement also refers to demands from its far-right allies to give security forces greater leeway in the use of force in the occupied West Bank. “The government will strive to strengthen the security forces and support the fighters and the police in order to fight and defeat terrorism”, it is stated in this document.
Finally, the Likud refers to religious issues, affirming that “the status quo on matters of religion and state will be maintained as it has been for decades in Israel, including with regard to holy places”.
Yoav Galant, new Minister of Defense
Netanyahu also announced on Wednesday the appointment of Yoav Galant as defense minister, according to the Likud. Yoav Galant, 64, a former general, has held several ministerial posts in different governments of Mr. Netanyahu, to whom he is close in the Likud.
Born in 1958 in Israel, this son of Polish Jewish Holocaust survivors, had a long career in the army, obtaining the rank of general in 2002 and becoming Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s military attaché. Officer in an elite unit, then commander of the military division controlling the Gaza Strip at the end of the 1990s, he would later be commander-in-chief of the southern region, particularly at the time of Israel’s unilateral withdrawal from the Palestinian enclave in the summer of 2005.
The Likud also said it wanted to elect a new parliament speaker on Thursday, Amir Ohana, who in 2019 was the first openly gay lawmaker to take up a ministerial post in Israel.