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Netanyahu Closer to Forming a Government

CBN

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JERUSALEM, Israel -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu moved two steps closer to forming a government on Wednesday when he signed coalition agreements with the Kulanu (All of Us) and United Torah Judaism parties.

In Israel, national elections are not the end of the race. That is actually when the second challenge begins.

Netanyahu's Likud party won 30 seats out of the 120-seat Knesset -- that's 25 percent -- in national elections in March. He has until next week to sign agreements with parties in a coalition to have a majority of seats in the Knesset.

The parties that will likely join the government are Bayit Yehudi (Jewish Home), Shas and Israel Beitenu (Israel Our Home). Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with

UTJ will receive the Health Ministry and Kulanu the Finance, Construction and Environmental Protection ministries. Kulanu campaigned on a platform of promising to lower housing prices.

The parties joining the coalition also have other demands. Israel Beitenu head Avigdor Lieberman is demanding that the new government make it a strategic goal to remove Hamas from leadership in Gaza, press reports said.

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