OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — A motley alliance of Israeli parties on Sunday
ousted Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving prime minister, and
formed a new government in a seismic shift in the country's turbulent politics.
اضافة اعلان
Naftali Bennett, a right-wing Jewish nationalist and former tech
millionaire, was to take over at the helm of the eight-party bloc, united only
by their shared disdain for the hawkish right-wing leader known as Bibi.
Netanyahu, 71, in typically combative style, vowed shortly before his defeat
that "if it's our destiny to be in the opposition, we'll do so with our
heads high until we take down this bad government and return to lead the
country our way."
Beloved as "King Bibi" by his right-wing supporters and condemned
as the "crime minister" by his critics, Netanyahu has long been the
dominant, and increasingly divisive, figure in Israeli politics.
But on Sunday, a vote in the Knesset legislature following weeks of intense
political drama ended his government with a razor-thin majority of 60 to 59 in
the 120-seat chamber.
In Tel Aviv, Netanyahu's opponents broke out in cheers and launched into an
evening of joyous celebrations, having rallied in recent days with "Bye
bye Bibi" placards.
One of the demonstrators, Tal Surkis, 19, confessed to "mixed
feelings" about the incoming change coalition, but said "it's
something Israel needs".
Bennett, 49, in a Knesset speech before the vote, promised the new
government, a coalition of ideologically divergent parties, "represents
all of Israel".
He said the country, after four inconclusive elections in under two years,
had been thrown "into a maelstrom of hatred and in-fighting".
Fragile coalition
Netanyahu, who is battling corruption charges in an ongoing trial he
dismisses as a conspiracy, has been the dominant Israeli politician of his
generation, having also served a previous three-year term in the 1990s.
His supporters have hailed him as a strong defender of Israel who has been
tough on arch foe Iran, but also struck a series of historic normalization
deals with several Arab nations last year.
Being ousted from the top job will leave Netanyahu more exposed to his legal
woes, because it denies him the chance to push through parliament changes to
basic laws that could give him immunity.
Bennett, a former minister under Netanyahu, vowed to keep Israel safe from
Iran, promising that "Israel won't let Iran have nuclear weapons" — a
goal Iran denies pursuing.
The diverse anti-Netanyahu bloc was cobbled together by the secular centrist
Yair Lapid, a former TV presenter.
It spans the political spectrum, including three right-wing, two centrist,
and two left-wing parties, along with an Arab Islamic party.
Lapid, 57, is to serve as foreign minister for the next two years before
taking over from Bennett.
'Scorched earth'
The improbable alliance emerged weeks after an 11-day war between Israel and
Hamas, the, and following inter-communal violence in Israeli cities with
significant Arab populations.
Netanyahu, who long ago earned a reputation as Israel's ultimate political
survivor, in his final days in office tried to peel off defectors, hoping to
deprive the nascent coalition of its wafer-thin legislative majority, to no
avail.
He accused Bennett of "fraud" for siding with rivals, and angry
rallies by the premier's Likud party supporters resulted in security being
bolstered for some lawmakers.
Netanyahu's opponents accused him and his allies of stoking tensions in a
"scorched-earth" campaign.
Netanyahu's bombastic remarks as he saw his grip on power slip drew
parallels at home and abroad to former US president Donald Trump, who described
his election loss last year as the result of a rigged vote.
Sunday's vote came at a time of heightened tensions in the
Israel-Palestinian conflict, which has grown more bitter in the Netanyahu years,
in part due to the expansion of settlements that are illegal under
international law in the occupied West Bank.
Hamas said that the political developments in
Jerusalem wouldn't change its
relationship with
Israel.
"The form the Israeli government takes doesn't change the nature of our
relationship," said the group's spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
"It's still a colonizing and occupying power that we must resist."
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