JERUSALEM/ISTANBUL

The Israeli government unanimously approved the reappointment of far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir as a national security minister.

A statement by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office on Wednesday said that Knesset member Amichay Eliahu was also reappointed as Heritage Minister, and Knesset member Isaac Wasserlauf as Negev, Galilee, and National Resilience Minister.

Ben-Gvir resigned from the government in January in opposition to a Gaza ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement with the Palestinian group Hamas.

His Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power) Party, however, rejoined the government on Tuesday after the Israeli army resumed its destructive war on the Gaza Strip.

According to Israeli public broadcaster KAN, Attorney General Gali Bharav-Miara opposed Ben-Gvir's reappointment because several petitions demanding the far-right lawmaker’s dismissal from office were submitted to the Supreme Court.

Ben-Gvir’s party holds six seats in the 120-seat Knesset. His return serves as a lifeline for Netanyahu, as the deadline for the Knesset to approve the state budget bill approaches.

Netanyahu needs Ben-Gvir to pass the state budget bill in the government before the end of the month, as required by law.

According to Israeli law, the government automatically falls if the state budget bill is not approved by the end of the month.

Nearly 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, mostly women and children, and over 112,000 others injured in a brutal Israeli military campaign in Gaza since October 2023.

Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.