Thirty-third government of Israel


The thirty-third government of Israel, also known as the third Netanyahu government, was formed after the 22 January 2013 Knesset elections, took office on 18 March 2013, and served until 14 May 2015. The Prime Minister was Benjamin Netanyahu of Likud; the government was a coalition of Likud, Yisrael Beiteinu, Yesh Atid, The Jewish Home, and Hatnuah.

Formation

Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu, which had run a common list in the election, were the largest party in the Knesset, with 31 seats, and formed the government. Hatnuah agreed to become part of the government in February. The final coalition agreement between Likud-Beteinu and the other parties was as signed on 15 March. The coalition parties held 68 of the 120 seats in the Knesset. The parties agreed to a deal that would raise the voting threshold in future elections from 2 to 4 percent; had this restriction been effect in the 2013 elections, Kadima and the three Arab parties would have failed to qualify for seats in the Knesset. Some have suggested the change was implemented as an attempt to limit Arab representation, but that it could ultimately force the Arab parties to merge and this would bring greater unity in the long run.

Recommendations

Dissolution

On 2 December 2014, Netanyahu dismissed Minister of Justice Tzipi Livni and Minister of Finance Yair Lapid. Four other Yesh Atid ministers then resigned. This dissolved the government ahead of schedule, resulting in elections on 17 March 2015.

Cabinet members

There were 29 ministerial posts to fill, but Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid called for a smaller cabinet. In response, the coalition agreed the cabinet was to have 20 members, with several members holding multiple ministries, plus eight deputy ministers. However, the cabinet that was sworn in had 22 ministers and eight deputy ministers. This did not include Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who had resigned in December 2012 after being charged with fraud. PM Netanyahu served as Foreign Minister until November 2013, when Lieberman was acquitted and returned to office.

Cabinet members

Deputy Ministers

Issues

In 2014, Housing Minister Ariel called for the construction of more houses in the West Bank area in response to the Fatah-Hamas national unity government deal. Finance Minister Lapid threatened to bring down the government if any West Bank settlements were unilaterally annexed to Israel. Justice Minister Livni also threatened to leave the government. Religious Affairs Minister Bennett said that the proposal to annex settled parts of the West Bank was "the only sane plan." He added: "It’s no secret that for dozens of years there has been a chasmic disagreement on how to leave the settlements. It hasn’t proven itself." Government spokesman Mark Regev declined to comment on the proposal and its opposition.