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Israeli parliament confirms Netanyahu government

01 April 2009 07:57 (UTC +04:00)

Tel Aviv â€“ APA. Israeli parliament confirmed the government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu after six-hour debates, APA reports. 69 parliamentarians voted for and 45 against the new government, 5 parliamentarians abstained. Following the voting, Netanyahu sworn in as Prime Minister. Netanyahu was Prime Minister in 1996-1999, but his Likud Party was in opposition for long years.
The new government also includes the representatives of Avigdor Liebermanâ€™s The Israel Our Home Party and Ehud Barakâ€™s Avoda Party. Avigdor Lieberman will be Foreign Minister and Ehud Barak Defense Minister. The coalition also includes Ultra-Orthodox Shas party with 11 seats in the parliament and ultra-right Jewish Home party with 3 seats in the parliament. Head of Shas faction Eli Yishai will be Interior Minister. The government consists of 30 ministers including Prime Minister and 7 deputy ministers.