Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the formation of his new government just days before the arrival of U.S. president Barack Obama on March 19. Eitan Haber, a confidant of Yitzhak Rabin, described the ruling coalition as “the most right-wing government that Netanyahu could have assembled. The settlers can and should be celebrating a major victory. They have always been left on the margin of real power in Israel, begging to be let in; now they are inside the key positions and are closer to the decision-making process than ever before.”