Netanyahu signs coalition deals with Kulanu and UTJ

In a race to form a coalition government before the Wednesday deadline, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu Thursday signed the first two agreements with the heads of Kulanu and United Torah Judaism. This gives him 46 MKs out of the 67 parliamentary majority he is aiming for. Kulanu leader Moshe Kahlon gets the Finance, Construction and Environmental Protection ministries, while the UTJ wins the Health Ministry and other posts. As finance minister, Kahlon promised the new government would pursue reforms in housing and banks, and act to close economic gaps in Israeli society