Lapid, Bennett on Verge of Ousting Netanyahu
Israel’s hectic political reality is heading down the home stretch, with a new government – one that for the first time in over 12 years will not include Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at its helm, expected to be announced in a matter of days, perhaps even hours. Naftali Bennett, chair of the right-wing Yamina party who is designated to serve as prime minister first in a rotation pact with center-left lawmaker Yair Lapid, convened his party Sunday afternoon to approve the planned unity government. The meeting was scheduled for earlier Sunday, but a last-ditch effort by Netanyahu to thwart his removal, in the form of a desperate – and eventually rejected – proposal for a three-way rotation agreement with Bennett and another right-wing lawmaker, Gideon Saar, delayed the proceedings. The party’s lawmakers are said to have unanimously approved Bennett’s efforts to form a government and avert new elections. Yamina may make a public statement tonight regarding its position, according to reports. The peculiar coalition dubbed the “change” government, which will consist of a slew of parties ranging from far-left to very right, is slated to be sworn in at the beginning of next week, barring unforeseen surprises. Israel will thereby be spared a fifth election in just over two years.
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