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Yitzchak Herzog and Benjamin Netanyahu
Photo: Koby Gideon / dpa
Yitzchak Herzog is concerned about the new government alliance that will include religious fundamentalists and right-wing nationalists.
A situation in which Israeli citizens face threats because of their identity or values is contrary to the country's fundamental democratic and ethical principles, the President wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Herzog, whose family has held prominent government positions for decades and is a member of the Labor Party, is considered a man of balance.
The reason for his tweet: Orit Strock, a designated new government member of the right-wing Religious Zionism party, known for her extreme views, had earlier declared on state radio that hotels should be allowed to refuse services to people on religious grounds.
Doctors should also not be forced to treat patients if this is against their religious beliefs and other doctors are on duty.
Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated on Sunday that his government would ensure equality.
"We will not allow members of the LGBTQ community to be discriminated against or violate the rights of other citizens of Israel," he said.
Nonetheless, his political rivals accuse the conservative politician of being vulnerable to the political demands of his far-right allies.
Netanyahu has been prime minister on several occasions.
Corruption proceedings are currently underway against him.
In particular, the planned admission of Itamar Ben-Gvir of the ultranationalist Jewish Force party and Bezalel Smotrich to the government has sparked unrest among Palestinians, liberal Israelis and abroad.
Both reject a Palestinian state and support the expansion of Israeli territory into the occupied West Bank.
Ben-Gvir is to become security minister with responsibilities for the police, while Smotrich's party is to be given control of planning in the West Bank.
In addition, the head of the religious Shas party, Aryeh Deri, who has been convicted of tax fraud, wants to become finance minister.
In the parliamentary elections in early November, the bloc led by Netanyahu won 64 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
After Netanyahu initially announced that he would quickly form a government, it was only weeks later and just minutes before an extension of the deadline on December 21 that he announced that he had now succeeded in forging an alliance.
However, all the details have not yet been determined.
But his cabinet should be ready in the next few days.
The alliance's alignment has sparked international concern that a two-state solution to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, advocated by many countries, is now a distant prospect.
dop/Reuters