The newly inaugurated government held its first cabinet meeting Sunday, with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, presiding over the gathering, opening it with the "Shehechiyanu" prayer of thanksgiving.
"The difficulties of forming a unity government are behind us, now the citizens of Israel look upon us," Bennett said. "Now we must prove ourselves, and work together in unity and cooperation to mend the rift among the public and return the state to proper governance after debilitation brought by internal squabbles."
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, sitting alongside Bennett, said that "what formed this government is friendship and trust, and what is going to maintain this government will be friendship and trust."