Israel's parliament has approved the right-leaning cabinet of Benjamin Netanyahu after a six-hour debate. Lawmakers voted 69 to 45 with five abstentions. This is Netanyahu's second mandate as prime minister in 10 years.
Likud party chief Benjamin Netanyahu is set to become Israel's new prime minister. Speaking to assembled lawmakers before being sworn in, he said Israel was committed to peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
The European Union urged Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister-designate, to accept Palestinian calls for statehood, something he has long voiced his opposition to. Europeans warn that EU-Israel ties will suffer if he does not.
Prime Minister designate Benjamin Netanyahu's eclectic Likud-Labour right-wing coalition seems likely to obtain a parliamentary majority, but rival factions have yet to agree on the burning issue of a separate Palestinian state.
Israel's Labour Party has voted to join Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud in a coalition following a deal made with Labour's leader, Defence Minister Ehud Barak. Netanyahu now has the majority he needs in parliament to form a government.
The Likud party's Benjamin Netanyahu (centre) looks set to become Israel's new prime minister. The hawkish former PM has called on the centrist Kadima party of Tzipi Livni (left) and Labour's Ehud Barak to unite in forming a coalition government.
In further proof of a swing to the right during a lacklustre campaign, the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu party of Avigdor Lieberman threatens to draw support from traditional Likud backers.
Israel's right-of-centre opposition Likud party, led by hawkish former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, remains the favourite ahead of Israel's Feb. 10 elections, according to opinion polls released on Friday.
Following the conflict in Gaza, security has become the key issue in Israel’s Feb. 10 general election. Likud's hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu leads in polls, but the rise of ultra-nationalist Avigdor Lieberman shows it may not be politics as usual.
