Israel’s new coalition partners have little in common
Naftali Bennett will be prime minister until September 2023 as part of a power-sharing deal. He will then hand power over to Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid, for a further two years.
PRETORIA, June 14 (ANA) – The new Israeli government, a hodgepodge of political parties led by right-wing nationalist leader Naftali Bennett, has little in common other than a desire to unseat now-former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Al Jazeera reported on Monday.
The news channel explained that the new government consists of eight parties, which range from the left to the far right. In addition, for the first time an Arab party, the United Arab List, is also a member of a government coalition.
“The coalition was born for one main purpose – to bring Netanyahu’s rule to an end. Members of the coalition share one thing in common, the belief that Netanyahu has corrupted Israel’s political system,” Yaniv Voller, senior lecturer in Politics of the Middle East at the University of Kent, told Al Jazeera.
“However, with only one purpose in common, future disagreements appear inevitable. Otherwise, this is a very loose coalition of different ideologies that at one point are bound to clash with each other,” he was quoted as saying.
Netanyahu’s 12-year tenure as Israeli prime minister came to an end as the country’s parliament on Sunday approved the new coalition.
He will remain head of the right-wing Likud party and become leader of the opposition.
Al Jazeera added that Palestinian leaders have dismissed the change in government, saying new the Israeli prime minister will likely pursue the same right-wing agenda as his predecessor.
Bennett will be prime minister until September 2023 as part of a power-sharing deal. He will then hand power over to Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid, for a further two years.
According to USA Today, Bennett was born in the Israeli city of Haifa to American parents who immigrated to Israel from California.
Like Netanyahu, Bennett lived and studied in the United States in his youth, perfecting his English skills and his understanding of Israel’s closest ally.
The internationally distributed American newspaper reported that Bennett and his wife moved back to Israel, where he launched his political career in 2006, serving as chief of staff for Netanyahu.
According to the publication, Bennett’s seemingly meteoric rise from the leader of a small religious faction in the Knesset to Israel’s most powerful office has some casting him as a savvy negotiator and others as a traitor and wicked liar.
The BBC said Bennett has promised to unite a nation frayed by years of political stalemate.
“The government will work for the sake of all the people The priorities would be reforms in education, health and cutting red tape,” he was quoted as saying.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher
