ISRAEL’s president today assigned Benjamin Netanyahu a mandate to form the next government, following November 1 elections that put the ex-premier on track for a stable right-wing coalition.

President Isaac Herzog told Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving premier until he was ousted last year, at a ceremony in Jerusalem that he had tasked him with forming a government.

Herzog said that, following his consultations with party leaders, “the result was clear, and the task of forming a government must be assigned to Benjamin Netanyahu”.

Herzog noted Netanyahu’s ongoing trial over corruption allegations, which the right-wing veteran denies. 

“I am not oblivious, of course, to the fact that there are ongoing legal proceedings against Mr Netanyahu at the Jerusalem District Court, and I do not trivialise this at all,” Herzog said.

But he noted that a recent precedent made clear Netanyahu could serve as prime minister while contesting the allegations. – AFP, November 13, 2022.