Israel ushered in its most right-wing government on Thursday amid international criticism for its ultranationalist religious hardline stance under returning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Mr Netanyahu won in November 1 elections that were the fifth in two years after previous governments had failed to form lasting coalitions. He has vowed to expand settlements in his new term.
“I hear the constant cries of the opposition about the end of the country and democracy,” Mr Netanyahu said after taking the podium in parliament ahead of the government's formal swearing-in on Thursday afternoon.
“Opposition members: to lose in elections is not the end of democracy, this is the essence of democracy,” he said.
Mr Netanyahu outlined three “national goals” of his government in a speech to parliament, saying his cabinet will focus on confronting Iran's nuclear activities, a national bullet train project and expanding its peace accords with Arab countries.
He took office a day after his conservative Likud party published guidelines for his new government that placed West Bank settlement among the top priorities.
“These guidelines constitute a dangerous escalation and will have repercussions for the region,” said Nabil Abu Rudeineh, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The Knesset elected Likud member and former justice minister Amir Ohana as Parliamentary Speaker before the new cabinet was officially sworn in.
Mr Ohana has served as public security minister and is an ally of Mr Netanyahu.
Mr Netanyahu and his Cabinet were sworn in after the government received 63 out of 120 votes in parliament.
Mr Netanyahu, who is on trial for corruption charges that he denies, has attempted to downplay the severity of some members of his government, including Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir who leads the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) party.
Under new laws passed days ahead of Thursday's swearing in, Mr Ben-Gvir's authority over the police has expanded. It puts him “in charge” of the police force on behalf of the Israeli government, as opposed to the government being in charge of the police.
Both Mr Ben-Gvir and Mr Netanyahu were heckled in the Knesset on Thursday, with some MPs calling them racist. Hours before the session, Israel's Ambassador to France Yael German resigned, saying she could not represent a government “so radically different from everything I believe in”.
Mr Netanyahu's alliance with the Religious Zionism and Jewish Power parties has faced criticism for opposing Palestinian statehood and the rights of Arab minorities in Israel.
In recent interviews, Mr Netanyahu has repeatedly insisted that the parties in his coalition will be taking their cues from him as their leader.
But coalition negotiations indicated this may not be the case, with Mr Netanyahu receiving demands from his allies on settlement expansion and religious law.
“We will establish a stable government for a full term that will take care of all Israel's citizens,” he said on Wednesday.
Only five women will serve as ministers in the new government.
Female ministers from Mr Netanyahu's Likud party will head up the transportation and environmental protection ministries, and the Prime Minister's office.
A woman will also take the helm of the national missions ministry, the newly-renamed settlement ministry. Orit Strock, of the Religious Zionism party, is a leading figure in the Hebron settler community and the founder of a settler group.
Addressing his final Knesset session as prime minister, Yair Lapid said he was handing over the reins “with an unquiet heart”.
“We are transferring a country to you in excellent condition. With a strong economy, with improved security capabilities and powerful deterrence, with some of the best international standing ever. Try not to ruin it, we’ll be back soon.”
He refused to shake Mr Netayanhu's hand as the new government was inaugurated.
Mr Netanyahu is the country's longest serving prime minister, having held office from 2009 until 2021 and for a stint in the 1990s.
Several thousand demonstrators stood outside the Knesset on Thursday, with some saying “we don't want fascists” in parliament. A protest was expected to take place in Tel Aviv later in the day.
Israel's new government has sparked fears of worsening violence in the occupied West Bank, which has seen its bloodiest year since 2005.
Jewish and Arab rights activists have warned the new government will encroach on millions of lives on both sides of the Green Line, with its guidelines threatening not only to prioritise settlements in the occupied West Bank but also to enforce new Orthodox-leaning rules on Israel's non-religious majority.
“We live in a terrifying time, facing realities that we couldn’t have dreamt about in our worst nightmares,” Noa Sattath, the executive director of the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, told Haaretz newspaper on Wednesday.
There are fears conflict could be ignited with neighbouring Jordan, which controls holy sites in occupied East Jerusalem, including the Al Aqsa compound.
King Abdullah II said Jordan was prepared to deal with any change in status of the holy sites, which he called a “red line”.
Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
Children who witnessed blood bath want to help others
Aged just 11, Khulood Al Najjar’s daughter, Nora, bravely attempted to fight off Philip Spence. Her finger was injured when she put her hand in between the claw hammer and her mother’s head.
As a vital witness, she was forced to relive the ordeal by police who needed to identify the attacker and ensure he was found guilty.
Now aged 16, Nora has decided she wants to dedicate her career to helping other victims of crime.
“It was very horrible for her. She saw her mum, dying, just next to her eyes. But now she just wants to go forward,” said Khulood, speaking about how her eldest daughter was dealing with the trauma of the incident five years ago. “She is saying, 'mama, I want to be a lawyer, I want to help people achieve justice'.”
Khulood’s youngest daughter, Fatima, was seven at the time of the attack and attempted to help paramedics responding to the incident.
“Now she wants to be a maxillofacial doctor,” Khulood said. “She said to me ‘it is because a maxillofacial doctor returned your face, mama’. Now she wants to help people see themselves in the mirror again.”
Khulood’s son, Saeed, was nine in 2014 and slept through the attack. While he did not witness the trauma, this made it more difficult for him to understand what had happened. He has ambitions to become an engineer.
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Company profile: buybackbazaar.com
Name: buybackbazaar.com
Started: January 2018
Founder(s): Pishu Ganglani and Ricky Husaini
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech, micro finance
Initial investment: $1 million
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Classification from Tour de France after Stage 17
1. Chris Froome (Britain / Team Sky) 73:27:26"
2. Rigoberto Uran (Colombia / Cannondale-Drapac) 27"
3. Romain Bardet (France / AG2R La Mondiale)
4. Fabio Aru (Italy / Astana Pro Team) 53"
5. Mikel Landa (Spain / Team Sky) 1:24"
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%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20Salha%20Al%20Busaidy%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPages%3A%20316%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EPublisher%3A%20The%20Dreamwork%20Collective%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
