Israeli PM presents new ruling coalition to president

 　　JERUSALEM, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu informed President Shimon Peres Saturday night that he has completed the task of forming the new ruling coalition¹, which is expected to be sworn in Monday.

　　"As you know, I formed a government. You gave me the mission, and I accomplished² it," Netanyahu was quoted as telling Peres by Israeli media, "We are facing a decisive year in security, the economy and efforts to promote peace, as well as the desire of Israeli citizens to bring change."

　　After weeks of intense negotiations³, Netanyahu's Likud-Beytenu party signed coalition deals with Yesh Atid (There is a Future) and the Jewish Home party, Netanyahu's major political allies.

　　Netanyahu was first given 28 days by Peres to form a coalition and then received a 14-day extension on March 2, ending on this Saturday. The new government is due to be inaugurated on Monday.

　　On Friday, after the coalition agreements were signed, Netanyahu wrote on his official Facebook page that the new government would "work together with cooperation for the sake of all Israel's citizens."

　　"We will work to strengthen the security of Israel and improve the quality of life for its citizens," he added.

　　Netanyahu was tasked with forming a government following the Jan. 22 elections, in which his Likud-Beytenu party received 31 out of the 120 seats in the Knesset (parliament).

　　Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid, chiefs of the Jewish Home and Yesh Atid parties respectively, have received the same amount of seats combined and formed an alliance. The alliance was based on issuing a new bill to conscript young ultra-Orthodox into the army and equalize the burden of military service among the Israeli society as well as improving the citizens' financial welfare.

　　Because of their insistence⁴ on those issues, the ultra-Orthodox parties, which were obvious contenders to join the government, were pushed out of Netanyahu's coalition.

　　The main issues that have stalled negotiations in recent days was the fight between Yesh Atid and the Likud party over the education ministry⁵, as well as Lapid's demand to lower the amount of ministers in the government, succeeding in both tasks.

1 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

2 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

3 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

4 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。

5 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。