Israel- December 2022

Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as Israel’s prime minister on 29 December, despite being currently on trial for corruption. The new government includes ultra-Orthodox and far-right parties that have pledged to expand illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, with some ministers convicted for crimes such as tax fraud, corruption and terrorism. The Knesset approved several bills throughout December in preparation for Netanyahu's government, including amendments to the Basic Law, which had prevented those who have been sentenced to prison from holding a ministerial position, and extended authority to National Security Minister over Israeli police force and Civil Administration in West Bank. This will be the most right-wing government in Israel’s history, and analysts warn that some of the new legislation it has proposed will inflame conflict, damage the judiciary, and restrict minority rights. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara warned that the new government’s legislative program threatens to turn Israel into a “democracy in name, but not in essence.”

Sources: Reuters, CNN, AL Jazeera, Haaretz, Middle East Monitor, BBC Arab News