Israel’s Netanyahu reaches coalition deal with far-right party

The deal comes nearly a week after the Likud party assigned ultranationalist leader Itamar Ben-Gvir the police ministry [File: Ammar Awad/Reuters]

Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has reached a coalition deal with the far-right Religious Zionism Party – which supports illegal settlements on the occupied Palestinian territories.

The hardline Religious Zionism Party will be given three portfolios, including the finance ministry, on a rotation basis, Netanyahu’s right-wing Likud party announced on Thursday. The party, however, did not provide details on how the rotation would work.