COALITION DEAL REACHED IN ISRAEL TO END NETANYAHU’S 12-YEAR RULE

Wed 02 June 2021:

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid on Wednesday night informed President Reuven Rivlin he is able to form a government in which he and Yamina chief Naftali Bennett will switch off as prime minister, positioning themselves to replace Israel’s longest-serving leader Benjamin Netanyahu as premier.

Lapid, a former TV presenter and a secular centrist, won the crucial support of hardline religious-nationalist Naftali Bennett, a tech multi-millionaire who has held a number of government portfolios including the defence ministry, on Sunday.

In a statement on Twitter on Wednesday, Lapid said he had informed Rivlin of the deal. “This government will work for all the citizens of Israel, those that voted for it and those that didn’t. It will do everything to unite Israeli society,” he said in a statement issued shortly before a midnight deadline (21:00 GMT).

Beit HaNasi spox:
In accordance with paragraph 13(b) of Basic Law: The Government (2001), Chairperson of Yesh Atid MK @yairlapid has informed President of Israel Reuven (Ruvi) Rivlin that he has been able to form a government.

— Reuven Rivlin (@PresidentRuvi) June 2, 2021

President Reuven Rivlin has called on parliament to convene as soon as possible to hold the confidence vote.

The coalition members are:

Yesh Atid – led by Yair Lapid
Kahol Lavan – led by Benny Gantz
Israel Beiteinu – led by Avigdor Lieberman
Labor – led by Merav Michaeli
Yamina – led by Naftali Bennett
New Hope – led by Gideon Sa’ar
Meretz – led by Nitzan Horowitz
Ra’am – led by Mansour Abbas

If the coalition fails to win the support of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset, there is a risk of the country having to go to elections for the fifth time in two years.

Under the terms of the new coalition, Bennett is to serve as prime minister until September 2023, when Lapid will take over from him until the end of the Knesset term in November 2025. The agreement came together after Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas threw his support behind the would-be government late on Wednesday night, setting up his Islamist party to be the first majority Arab party to be part of a ruling coalition in Israel’s history.

Netanyahu, in power for the past 12 years, has sought to discredit Bennett and other rightists negotiating with Lapid, saying they were endangering Israel’s security.

Israel’s latest political drama adds to the woes of Netanyahu, who is on trial for criminal charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust while in office – accusations he denies.

Photo: Under the coalition agreement, Naftali Bennett (left) and Yair Lapid (right) will rotate the position of prime minister

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