A coalition formed by Israeli opposition parties has struck an agreement to form a government to remove Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power. It’s a seismic development in the Middle East, as Netanyahu is the longest serving leader in Israel’s history and a dominant figure in the region.
The announcement by the parties is thought to bring with it the possibility of an end to the political impasse that has produced four elections in two years and left Israel’s government apparatus unstable and without a state budget.
If Parliament ratifies the fragile agreement in a confidence vote in the coming weeks, it would mark the end of the 12-year tenure of the man who has shown an uncanny ability to maintain power through all manner of challenges, and who has pushed Israel’s politics to the right.
Centrist lawmaker Yair Lapid said in a statement that he had told Israeli President Reuven Rivlin he had succeeded in forming the coalition government with Naftali Bennett, a former defense minister and onetime Netanyahu ally, as well as other parties.
It took a partnership between two parties of differing ideologies to unite to finally force Netanyahu out. Here’s how NBC News described the unlikely alliance that was formed, mainly due to the shared desire to see Netanyahu ousted:
“The new government will be made up of a diverse constellation, folding together dovish left-wing parties with right-wing nationalists in an unlikely coalition that speaks to a desperation felt by many Israeli lawmakers across the political spectrum to block Netanyahu’s path to a further stint in office.”
Bennett shares many of Netanyahu’s hard-line views and heads the small religious Yamina party. He is expected to serve as prime minister for two years before handing over the reins to Lapid for two more.
Lapid is a former journalist who leads Israel’s second-largest party, Yesh Atid. He was unable to collect enough support without the assistance of Bennett’s hard-line nationalist Yamina party.
