JERUSALEM: The final step in Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu's political comeback, the new Israeli government is scheduled to be sworn in on Thursday despite ongoing domestic and international criticism.

Since his coalition of nationalist and Jewish religious parties won a parliamentary majority in a vote on November 1, the veteran leader, 73, who is currently on trial for corruption charges he denies, has had to allay worries about the future of civil liberties, diplomacy, and clean government.

Given their opposition to a Palestinian state and some members' prior activism against Israel's justice system, Arab minority, and LGBT rights, the Religious Zionism and Jewish Power parties and his alliance with them have raised concerns.

Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to advance tolerance and work toward peace in an effort to appease critics. Netanyahu stated on Wednesday, "We will set up a stable government for a full term that will look after all Israeli citizens.

Israel's longest-serving leader, he served as prime minister from 2009 to 2021, although at times he presided over a caretaker government before elections. He served as prime minister for three years in the 1990s.

The new government policy outline, published on Wednesday, said it would strive for peace with all of Israel's neighbours.

The first guiding principle listed, however, cited assertions of "exclusive and unassailable" Jewish national rights "throughout the land of Israel", terminology that appeared to include the West Bank and East Jerusalem - among the territories that the Palestinians seek for a state.

For the Palestinians, Netanyahu's government line-up has simply darkened an already bleak view, putting their hopes of statehood further out of reach. Violence in the West Bank has surged this year.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday bemoaned what he called "the establishment of an Israeli government whose motto is extremism and apartheid".

On wider diplomatic circles, Netanyahu has said he hopes for a breakthrough in forming diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia as he did in 2020 with other Gulf states that share Israel's concerns about Iran.

Riyadh has signalled no change in its position that any progress with Israel was contingent on Palestinian statehood.

Itamar Ben-appointment Gvir's as police minister has alarmed people both at home and abroad. Ben-Gvir is a West Bank settler who was found guilty in 2007 of inciting hatred against Arabs and supporting a Jewish militant group that is listed as a terrorist organization in Israel and the United States.

Lawyer Ben-Gvir claims that his stances have softened.

The largely ceremonial president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, issued a warning on Sunday against potentially impairing people's rights. Businesses in Israel have opposed calls to change the nation's anti-discrimination law.