New government sworn in

House greenlights new government after hours of political sparring; 69 Knesset members enter yea vote, 45 oppose, five abstain

Following a tumultuous session the Knesset green-lighted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government Tuesday night.

 

The vote tallied 69 Knesset members in favor and 45 Knesset members against. Labor MKs Shelly Yacimovich, Eitan Cabel, Yuli Tamir, Amir Peretz and Ophir Pines-Paz abstained.

 

Knesset Member Ahmad Tibi (United Arab List-Ta'al) was the only member of the House not present in the vote.

 

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The newly inducted Likud-led government then began its swearing in ceremony, with Netanyahu pledging first among his ministers.

 

"This is a special day for the State of Israel and a very emotional day for me and my family," said Netanyahu once officially inducted prime minister. "I mostly feel the weight of the responsibility I now shoulder. My fellow ministers and I will do all we can to lead Israel towards a better future."

 

One by one, Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin called the new cabinet members to the podium, where they recited: "I hereby pledge my loyalty to the State of Israel and its laws, to faithfully carry out the position of my office and to uphold the decision of the Knesset."

 

Israel's new cabinet is comprised of the following ministers:

• Vice Premier and Minister for Strategic Affairs Moshe Yaalon
• Vice Premier, Minister for Regional Development and Minister for Development of the Negev and Galilee Silvan Shalom
• Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Ehud Barak
• Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman
• Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister Eli Yishai
• Agriculture Minister Shalom Simhon
• Communication Minister Moshe Kahlon
• Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat
• Education Minister Gideon Sa'ar
• Environmental Protection Minister Gilad Erdan
• Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz
• Housing and Construction Minister Ariel Atias
• Immigrant Absorption Minister Sofa Landver
• Industry, Trade and Labor Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer
• Internal Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch
• Justice Minister Prof. Yaakov Ne'eman
• Minister of Government Services to the Public Michael Eitan
• Minister of Information and Diaspora Yuli Edelstein
• Minister of Intelligence Services Dan Meridor
• Minister of Minority Affairs Avishay Braverman
• Minister of Religious Affairs Yakov Margi
• National Infrastructure Minister Uzi Landau
• Science and Technology Minister Daniel Hershkowitz
• Social Affairs Minister Isaac Herzog
• Tourism Minister Stas Misezhnikov
• Transportation Minister Yisrael Katz
• Minister Benny Begin
• Minister Meshulam Nahari
• Minister Yossi Peled

 

Earlier, Opposition Leader Tzipi Livni slammed the "enormous" size of the new cabinet, which is comprised of 30 ministers and seven deputy ministers, who, according to her, "are in charge of nothing."

 

The Kadima chairwoman said, "A big and lavish cabinet is wrong at a time of economic constraints. The public will have to carry the enormous weight of a bloated cabinet."