After more than 500 days, today a government will be sworn in • Netanyahu has criticized a number of ministers in government: "The cost of establishing the government is lower than the cost of more elections" • "It's time to apply sovereignty" • Opposition Knesset members made inter alia and interrupted his speech From the plenum

The Knesset plenum is now (first) convened for approval by Israel's 35th government, after no less than 500 days have passed when no Israeli government has won the Knesset's confidence.

Photo: Knesset channel

Remember, the Knesset was supposed to hold the inauguration ceremony on Thursday evening, but just minutes before the meeting opened, Prime Minister Netanyahu asked MK Ben-Gantz, the chairman of the Blue White faction, to adjourn the meeting today at 13:00, to allow him to complete the meeting. The position of all the Likud ministers in government.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened the ceremony by addressing MK Blue Benny Gantz: "My son, we worked together on Operation Protective Edge. I, as the Prime Minister and you, are the Chief of Staff, to protect Israeli citizens in an unjust campaign. I am convinced that we will work successfully for our country. "

Prime Minister Netanyahu added: "This is an important day for the State of Israel, the new state was established in the will of most Israeli citizens and it will serve all Israeli citizens - both Jews and non-Jews alike. Out of heavy responsibility, Benny Gantz and I chose to work to establish an emergency government and national unity and prevent further elections. Within one year, the State of Israel underwent three election campaigns that deepened the polarization of the people, taking a heavy toll on the state coffers. If we went to a fourth election - the cost would amount to NIS 2 billion. 

"The additional cost of the unity government is NIS 85 million a year - less than the cost of further elections. If we were going to a fourth election - it would have been a wasteful waste."

Following his speech, accompanied by disturbances by Knesset members from the left, Prime Minister Netanyahu said: "It is no wonder that an absolute majority of the public welcomes the unity government. The public wants a unity government, which is what the public is getting today. I have to admit, I think you all saw it, the act of assembly as it is, it was very complex, until the last minute, all the partners in government but first and foremost my party members, the Likud, who received the highest number of voters ever received from a state history. All partners needed painful compromises and concessions, but we chose to serve the people together as committed, magnified and urgent. Indeed, it is urgent.

"The global corona crisis is shaking countries and continents. It has already taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world. We have decided to incite the controversy between us to face shoulder to shoulder with the challenges that the corona faces."

Netanyahu also said: "In the health sector, the actions we have taken have been a great success, we have saved many lives. We are grieving for each of our citizens who have passed away during the three months of the plague and send condolences to their families. Only yesterday in Britain, one day, almost twice the number of Israelis died. Different because of the steps we took in time - the closure of the sky, home insulation, closures and more, and of course thanks to the citizens of the state who kept the health system guidelines and the wonderful medical staff.

"But the campaign is not over yet. The danger will only be finalized when a vaccine for the virus is found. In the meantime, the virus is still here. There is a possibility that a two-continent corona wave will affect the world and Israel as well, just as it did with the Spanish influenza epidemic 100 years ago. The government will do is to set up the Corona Cabinet in order to prepare for the second wave of challenge. In the same way, to meet the huge economic challenge that lies ahead, we will have to pass an agreed and responsible budget. It will be a very complex budget, one that will maintain an aggregate framework, prevent collapse, ensure stability. And return the growth, a budget that will give the citizens of Israel a hope and hope because it will return the places Working". 

"We have already invested resources to help the self-employed. I know that the concern for livelihood is at the top, and I want you to know that this concern is at the top of our minds. The new government will do everything to restore the economic situation to its fullest extent. We will do everything possible to try and restore the economic situation to its own."

Prime Minister Netanyahu further added that "From time to time, I discussed this with the US Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, I greatly appreciated his visit to Israel. The only visit he made during the Corona period. I greatly appreciated his assertive statement against the International Court of Justice, which accuses Israel of unfounded and outrageous allegations.

"We brought the United States-US alliance to new heights during the presidency of our friend President Trump. And with all my tremendous appreciation for the US, for the tremendous support it gives us - I repeat the basic principle I have been emphasizing for years: Israel's security is first and foremost on us, our ability to defend ourselves on our own against every threat.

"Above this stage, I pray for our success, unity and cooperation, we can for them. I want to believe that we produced the necessary lessons 72 years ago. We jointly established the State of Israel, on the eve of the Six Day War, Levi Eshkol and Menachem Begin established the first emergency government - like A unity government - 17 years later, in the face of a severe economic crisis - Shamir and Peres established the second and third unity government. These governments have achieved great achievements, and today they are once again obliged to work together to ensure the future and prosperity of the State of Israel. "

Towards the end of his speech, Netanyahu said: "I would like to thank my partners in the National Camp for the joint way we have done so far and I hope that another party will join us.

"And another personal word," added Netanyahu, "for the fifth time I am standing here on a public mission with a very big support - I accept this with a deep respect for you citizens of Israel. Many people ask me, as we watch here and as you watch everything possible - where you draw your The forces for doing so under the simplest conditions, to say the least, that I and my family face them day-to-day, hour-by-year, year-by-year. We have now gone through days of difficulty, but also of wonderful mutual guarantee. We have seen the spirit of the people of Israel at its best. I will continue to work around the clock for our people and our country. Where do I draw my powers? I draw them from my beloved wife Sarah, my wonderful son Yair and Father Candle: I draw them from the tradition of our people and our ancestral heritage, and I also mean the legacy of ancestors and mothers simply.

"Ten years ago, on my father's 100th birthday, he made statements about the Iranian nuclear threat. These things are always used by me in a map and compass, and they are also true to the efforts we have made in recent months to curb the corona virus. My father said, 'The people of Israel show the world how A nation must behave when it is in danger. It must look into the eye of danger, ask what can be done and what can be done. I have an unquestioning belief that our people will fight off the danger, so we did and so we will continue. "This is my life's mission - to ensure our safety for generations to come."

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The distribution of files continues: Elkin will be appointed Minister of Higher Education and Water Resources, later to serve as Minister of Transport

In the meantime, the new government will have 36 ministers (Likud representatives, blue and white, Shas, Torah Judaism, Labor and Derech Eretz). The meeting will open in Netanyahu's speech, which will cover the basic principles of the government and its policy and the division of roles between government ministers. Also Benny Gantz, who is running for a replacement prime minister, and future opposition MK MK Yair Lapid (Yesh Futur). At the end of their speech, the faction debate will begin on the Prime Minister's announcement, with the representative of each faction receiving a 9-minute right to speak. All factions will vote in expressing the Knesset's confidence in the new government.

The Knesset will then approve the election of Knesset candidate MK Yariv Levin (Likud) to the position of Speaker of the Knesset, but at the same time it should be noted that the opposition presented two other candidates; Knesset Member Karin Elaharr Mish Atid and MK Ahmed Tibi from the joint list. The special Knesset meeting will be held at the end of the speeches, the government's first vote of confidence will be held, and after the vote, Netanyahu will make a statement of allegiance, followed by 34 other ministers one after the other. Last night, the coalition agreements and the basic lines of the new government were laid on the table.