Israel swear in new govt, PM seeks West Bank annexation

Israel's parliament swore in a new unity government Sunday led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former rival Benny Gantz, ending more than 500 days of political deadlock.

Lawmakers in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, formally approved the three-year coalition government with 73 voting in favour and 46 against.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the new unity government should apply Israeli sovereignty over West Bank settlements.

"It's time to apply the Israeli law and write another glorious chapter in the history of Zionism," Netanyahu said on the issue of Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory.

"These territories are where the Jewish nation was born and grew," he said of the settlements.

"This measure won't distance us from peace, it will bring us closer."

Such a move was likely to cause international uproar and inflame tensions in the West Bank, home to nearly three million Palestinians and some 400,000 Israelis living in settlements considered illegal under international law.

In his speech, Netanyahu said there was no question that the "hundreds of thousands of our Jewish brothers in Judea and Samaria will always stay in their place as part of any final peace agreement".

Judea and Samaria is the Hebrew and biblical term used by Israel to refer to the West Bank.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented his new unity government to parliament Sunday, a power-sharing agreement with former election rival, centrist Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.

Under his accord with Gantz, Netanyahu will remain prime minister for 18 months before handing over to his new partner. Gantz, a former armed forces chief, will be Netanyahu's defense minister.

"The people wanted unity, and that is what it got," Netanyahu told parliament, citing a desire to avoid a fourth election after three inconclusive ballots since April 2019, and a national battle against the coronavirus crisis.

Israel's longest-serving leader, Netanyahu, now 70, first came to power in 1996 and has served three consecutive terms since 2009. He goes on trial on May 24 on charges of bribery, breach of trust and fraud, which he denies.

With a record 36 ministers, the cabinet will be the largest in Israel's history, a reflection of weeks of deal-making that bolstered Netanyahu's reputation as a political survivor.