Forward Israel

Beating a 3 April deadline, Benjamin Netanyahu has finally succeeded in cobbling together a coalition that will allow him to become, again, the Prime Minister of Israel. When he left office the last time he was the most unpopular politician in the history of the State of Israel, largely due to his hard-line, bordering on obnoxious, stance towards the Palestinians and his often blatant disregard for agreements into which Israel had entered, especially regarding the establishment of settlements. Netanyahu becoming PM is something akin to Dick Cheney being elected president in 2012.

As predicted, Kadima is not part of the governing coalition. It was the agreement of Labor Party leader, Ehud Barak, also a former PM, to join the coalition that allowed Likud to form a government. This decision has caused deep division within the Labor Party, which is Likud's political opposite in many ways.

The new coalition consists of Likud, Labor, Yisrael Beitneu, and Shas. These four parties together currently hold 66 seats in the Knesset, which is five seats more than they need for a majority in the 120 seat body. So, we'll see. For the peace of Jerusalem pray (Ps. 122:6).