Right-winger Naftali Bennett is to replace Benjamin Netanyahu as Israel’s prime minister under a power-sharing deal announced by centrist Yair Lapid just ahead of a midnight deadline tonight in Israel.
Netanyahu has served as prime minister since 2009, the longest term of any Israeli p.m. He has so far survived a series of four elections in two years as Israeli politics stalemated.
The deal would give Bennett, 49– who has adamantly opposed a Palestinian state, pushed for annexation of West Bank lands, and bragged of killing Arabs — a wide-ranging coalition of political support from Lapid’s Yesh Atid party, which has 17 seats in the Israeli parliament, to right-wing New Hope party, a breakaway from Netanyahu’s party, to Labor and Meretz on the center-left.
But Jewish parties only get Bennett to 58 votes, and Bennett needs 61 votes. The deal also depends on three Palestinian members of parliament in the rightwing Islamist party, the United Arab List, or Ra’am. Ra’am head Mansour Abbas reportedly sought promises from the Jewish leaders– and all Israeli government coalitions are made of Jewish parties to the exclusion of Palestinians — not to demolish Palestinian villages inside Israel. Abbas reportedly also wanted regressive promises regarding LGBTQ freedoms. i24 News says Abbas signed on to the government without the details of his cooperation being hammered out.
Israeli media say the deal– which includes a rotation agreement in which Lapid would take over as prime minister later — won’t be final till there is an actual vote of the Knesset in a week’s time in favor of the leadership. Benjamin Netanyahu is sure to pull as many political strings as he can to make the deal fall apart. Axios is reporting that Bennett would be sworn in next week if the deal holds.
Bennett served as a minister in Netanyahu’s government. He and other right-wingers have now betrayed the PM. The son of American Jews who immigrated to Israel under its Jewish “law of return” that discriminates against Palestinians, Bennett made a fortune in high-tech in the U.S. before entering politics in Israel.
“Tonight we begin a new beginning,” Labor Leader Merav Michaeli announced minutes ago. “Tonight we succeeded… The Change government is something that so many citizens of Israel were wanting. We have a long way to go.”
Michaeli indicated to her own voters that she had compromised. A sticking point had been her appointment to a judcial appointments committee Minister. Michaeli reportedly gave way to right-winger Ayelet Shaked of Bennett’s Yamina (rightwards) party in order to facilitate the deal.
The left has made many concessions to get the deal, says Owen Alterman of i24 News; and its voters have accepted them quietly in order to get rid of Netanyahu.
One potential opening for Netanyahu is the opposition to the new government by a right-wing member of Naftali Bennett’s party, Uri Ohrbach. But he had reportedly agreed not to block the deal.
“The left has made many concessions to get the deal, says Owen Alterman of i24 News;”.owen alterman
mr alterman must be from another planet.There is no “left in Israel.”
A very bizarre government taking shape, ranging from Ayelet Shaked to Ibtisam Maraana, from Nitzan Horowitz to Mansour Abbas. I’m not all sure that it will even get off the ground.
A correction to your report: the dispute between Shaked and Michaeli was not over the Justice ministry, which went to Sa’ar. The dispute was over the judicial appointments committee.
“Regressive promises”– a nice, vague, abstract expression.