New Netanyahu government finally in the bag

After weeks of tough haggling, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s third government was in the bag Friday, March 15, after signing deals with two political newcomers, Yair Lapid (centrist Yesh Atid – Future) and Naftali Bennett (pro-settlement Habayit Hayehudi – Jewish Home). At their insistence, the ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties were excluded for the first time in a decade and their traditional draft exemptions and welfare subsidies ended. The new government to be sowrn in Monday after being presented to the president Saturday night.