The new government that was sworn in Thursday is the most right-wing in Israeli history and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party has signed agreements with coalition partners that included pledges to expand Israeli settlements in the West Bank, legalize dozens of wildcat outposts and pass legislation that would allow businesses to refuse service to certain customers on the basis of their religious conscience.
Likud also agreed in principle to annex large parts of the West Bank in its deal with the far-right Religious Zionism party, but the deal includes a clause giving Netanyahu an effective veto, which he is likely to maintain as he seeks a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia. READ MORE
