Bibi's Back: Netanyahu Sworn in as Israel's PM for Historic Third Tenure

The conservative Zionist Likud politician served as prime minister of Israel between 1996 and 1999, then again from 2009 until 2021, for a total of 15 years of the Jewish state's 74-year history.

Benjamin Netanyahu was sworn in as the head of Israel's 37th government on Thursday, kicking off his sixth term in office (and third consecutive term) nearly two months after the country's snap legislative elections on November 1.

The swearing in ceremony featured a bit of drama, with Netanyahu's predecessor, Yair Lapid of the liberal Zionist Yesh Atid party, leaving the Knesset's chambers without shaking hands with the new prime minister.

Thursday's event saw the swearing in of a total of 31 ministers, from defense, foreign affairs and justice to education, economy and industry and transportation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Netanyahu and expressed hope that the new Israeli government would "continue the line of developing constructive cooperation" with Russia "in all areas for the benefit of our peoples, in the interests of ensuring peace and security in the Middle East." Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also offered his congratulations. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken congratulated Netanyahu last week, saying Washington looks "forward to working with Israel to advance both the interests and the values that have long been at the heart of our relationship."

Netanyahu informed Israeli President Isaac Herzog that Likud and its allies had successfully cobbled together a majority in the 120-seat Knesset on December 22 after weeks of negotiations following the November vote - which was Israel's fifth in three years.

The Knesset building in Jerusalem, where Thursday's ceremony took place, was surrounded by protesters opposed to the new government, which now ex-Prime Minister Lapid earlier slammed as the "most extreme...in Israel's history."

Along with Likud and its 32 seats, the new Netanyahu government includes traditional allies like the Religious Zionist Party and United Torah Judaism, Shas, a Haredi religious party, Otzma Yehudit, a far-right, openly anti-Arab party, and Noam, a far-right Orthodox Jewish party.

This week, 300+ rabbis from the United States signed a letter warning that the policies of the new "extremist" government could cause "irreparable harm to the Israel-Jewish Diaspora relationship."

Netanyahu has promised to make new illegal Israeli expansion into the West Bank a "top priority" of his administration, with other commitments including reforming the judicial system, and subsidies to political allies in the religious Zionist community.