Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, wife Sara, visit Jerusalem's Western Wall
He came 'to remember that we have the duty to preserve the legacy of the generations and to secure our future for the next generations as well'
At the end of his first day in office on Sunday night, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited the Western Wall in Jerusalem accompanied by his wife Sara.
Joining the couple was the Rabbi of the Western Wall and holy sites, Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, and the chairman of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, Mordechai Soli Eliav.
Netanyahu said in a statement that he came "to touch the stones of the Kotel (Western Wall), and to remember that we have a duty to preserve the legacy of the previous generations and to secure our future for the next generations as well, and that's what we will do." He also said that he was "excited" to be taking on the role of prime minister for the sixth time as the head of the 37th government.
The transfer of power to ministers in Netanyahu's right-wing and religious government took place throughout the day on Sunday, with particular attention paid to firebrand politicians Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich. The former was inaugurated as the country's first national security minister, while the latter became finance minister. According to a report in Hebrew media, Ben-Gvir informed police that he intends to ascend to the Temple Mount this week — a regular occurrence before he became a senior figure in Netanyahu's coalition and a practice he said he plans to continue.
After being ousted from power in 2021 after serving for 12 consecutive years as Israel's longest-serving serving prime minister, Netanyahu made a comeback in last November's national elections, picking up 64 seats in Israel's parliament, the Knesset, with the help of Haredi and national religious parties including Ben-Gvir's Jewish Power and Smotrich's Religious Zionism.