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| Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the first cabinet meeting of his new government at the Prime Minister office in Jerusalem on March 18, 2013. (Xinhua/GPO/Kobi Gideon) |
JERUSALEM, March 18 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened members of the 33rd government for the first meeting on Monday night, several hours after their inauguration in the Knesset (parliament).
During the meeting, the new cabinet elected the Security Cabinet, which included Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon, Finance Minister Yair Lapid, Trade and Labor Minister Naftali Bennet and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni.
In addition, the new government voted to extend the deadline by which it must pass the 2013 budget in 135 days from 45 days, the Finance Ministry said.
The 2013 budget must be presented within 85 days to the Knesset, which need to approve it within a further 50 days, the Finance Ministry said in a statement.
Without the amendment, the new government would have had only 45 days for the whole process to pass the budget.
The new cabinet, consisting of 22 ministers, took the oath of office on Monday after the Knesset voted after a lengthy debate to approve it, with 68 of 120 lawmakers in favor.
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