The signing of a deal to form a new Israeli government is reportedly imminent. According to Israeli media, the three main parties currently in negotiations - Likud Beitenu of PM Netanyahu, Yesh Atid of Yaïr Lapid and Jewish Home of Naftali Bennett, have agreed on an electoral reform to raise the threshold for parties running for Knesset from two to four percent of the vote.
Caught in a deadlock at various points during the negotiations, Netanyahu had reportedly threatened to give up on Lapid and Bennett and turn to the ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, who ultimately found themselves on the outside of the government for the first time in many years.
Yesh Atid leader Lapid will become finance minister, while Bennett will get the economics and trade minister, with responsibility for the Religious Services Ministry and the Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Ministry. The Foreign Ministry will apparently remain in the hands of Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, who stepped down in December 2012 due to his ongoing corruption trial. The post is to be held for him until his case is decided.
Yuli Edelstein (Likud) is set to become the new speaker of the Knesset, succeeding Reuven Rivlin. The division of ministerial portfolios, nine less than during the previous legislature, will be as follows (source: 'Jerusalem Post'):
Likud-Beitenu
Benjamin Netanyahu – prime minister and temporary foreign minister
Moshe Ya’alon – defense minister
Gideon Sa’ar – interior minister
Yair Shamir – agriculture minister
Yitzhak Aharonovitch – public security minister
Sofa Landver – immigration absorption minister
Uzi Landau – tourism minister
Israel Katz – transportation minister
Gilad Erdan, Silvan Shalom, Yuval Steinitz and Limor Livnat are expected to divide the Ministries of Communications, Infrastructure, Strategic Affairs and Home Front Defense
Tzachi Hanegbi - coalition chairman
Yesh Atid
Yair Lapid – finance minister
Shai Piron – education minister
Meir Cohen – welfare and social services minister
Yael German – health minister
Yaakov Peri – science minister
Ofer Shelah – deputy defense minister
Jewish Home
Naftali Bennett – economics and trade minister (formerly industry, trade and labor), with responsibility for the Religious Services Ministry and the Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs Ministry
Uri Ariel – construction and housing, including the Israel Lands Authority
Uri Orbach – pensioners affairs
Eliahu Ben-Dahan – deputy religious services minister, with expanded responsibilities, including conversion, the Chief Rabbinate and yeshivas
Nissan Slomiansky and Ayelet Shaked – rotation for head of the Knesset Finance Committee
Hatnua
Tzipi Livni – justice minister
Amir Peretz – environmental protection minister
