4 yıl önce

Anticipating sabotage, Netanyahu foes push for quick vote to end his rule

Benjamin Netanyahu’s rivals Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett seek immediate parliament vote to prove majority, fearing any delay could allow Israeli PM more time to derail their coalition.

Reuters

Netanyahu says he will continue to exert pressure on former ideological allies who joined the coalition of Yair Lapid (L) and Naftali Bennett.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's opponents have pushed for a quick parliament vote to formally end his lengthy rule, hoping to head off any last-minute attempts by the premier to derail their newly announced coalition government.

The latest political manoeuvring began on Thursday just hours after opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner Naftali Bennett declared they had reached a deal to form a new government and muster a majority in the 120-member parliament, or Knesset.

The coalition consists of eight parties from across the political spectrum with the shared goal of toppling Netanyahu after a record-setting 12 years in power.

The alliance includes hardliners previously allied with Netanyahu, as well as centre-left parties and even an Arab party — a first in Israeli politics.

Netanyahu slams 'dangerous leftist government'

Netanyahu lashed out at his foes on Thursday, signalling that he will continue to exert pressure on former ideological allies who joined the Lapid-Bennett coalition.

"All members of Knesset who were elected with right-wing votes need to oppose this dangerous leftist government," he wrote on Twitter.

The anti-Netanyahu bloc announced the coalition deal just before a deadline at midnight on Wednesday.

The agreement triggered a complex process that is likely to stretch over the next week.

The coalition commands a razor-thin majority of 61 votes in parliament.

Now the question is whether the group's votes will hold together to name a new parliament speaker.

The speaker would preside over a Knesset vote required to confirm the new government.

The current parliament speaker is a Netanyahu ally who could use his position to delay the vote and give Netanyahu more time to sabotage the coalition.

As the Lapid-Bennett coalition was coming together in recent days, Netanyahu and his supporters ramped up a pressure campaign against former hawkish allies, including Bennett and his number 2 in the Yamina party, Ayelet Shaked.

Netanyahu accused them of betraying right-wing values. His supporters launched vicious social media campaigns and staged noisy protests outside Shaked’s home.

Netanyahu and his supporters called a meeting later on Thursday to discuss their next steps.

First Arab party in governing coalition

Under the coalition agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett, a former ally of Netanyahu, will serve the first two years while Lapid will serve the final two years – though it is far from certain their fragile coalition will last that long.

The historic deal also includes a small party, the United Arab List or Ra'am, which would make it the first Palestinian-Israeli party ever to be part of a governing coalition.

Netanyahu, desperate to remain in office while he fights corruption charges, is expected to do everything possible in the coming days to prevent the new coalition from taking power.

If he fails, he will be pushed into the opposition.

The deal comes at a tumultuous time for Israel, which fought an 11-day war in Gaza last month while also experiencing mob violence between Jews and Arabs in cities across the country.

The country also is emerging from a coronavirus crisis that caused deep economic damage and exposed tensions between the secular majority and the ultra-Orthodox minority.