The Likud and Otzma Yehudit parties reached an agreement overnight Thursday in the formation of a new government.

The agreement calls for Otzma Yehudit chairman Itamar Ben-Gvir to serve in the position of Minister of National Security, a broader version of the Public Security Ministry that will include control over the Land Enforcement Authority and Yehudah and Shomron Border Police.

Otzma Yehudit will also receive an expanded version of the Negev and Galil Ministry that will be called the Ministry for the Development of the Negev and Galil and National Resilience. The new ministry, which incorporates authority for the regulation of young settlements in Yehudah and Shomron, was split off from the Development of the Periphery, which Shas insisted on receiving.

Additionally, the party will receive the Heritage Ministry [split off from the Ministry of Jerusalem and Heritage], which will oversee all the heritage and antiquities sites in Israel, including in Yehudah and Shomron. The ministry will have authority over the Antiquities Authority and the Council for the Preservation of Sites and will work to develop and preserve the history of the people of Israel.

The party will also receive the position of Deputy Minister of Economy, as well as the chairmanship of the Knesset’s Public Security and Israel Fund Committees [in rotation].

Finally, it was also agreed that a large-scale national guard will be established to restore public order and personal security to the streets of Israel.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)