MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Bayit Yehudi (The Jewish Home) leader Avigdor Liberman signed a political partnership agreement that appoints Liberman as the country's defense minister and includes his faction in the governing coalition, local media reported on Wednesday.
"Now we are joining hands to move Israel forward," Netanyahu was quoted as saying by the Jerusalem Post.
Netanyahu added that the country's government with Liberman as defense minister "will continue to uphold the responsibility to Israel's security."
Liberman is expected to take up his new position next week if the agreement is approved by parliament.
The alliance is expected to strengthen Netanyahu's government, based on the minimum possible parliamentary majority (61 out of 120). Together with the six mandates of the Jewish Home party, the coalition will consist of 67 deputies and will include all right-wing and religious parties in the Knesset (parliament).
