End Of Netanyahu’s 12-year rule: Knesset Approves Bennett-Lapid Coalition Govt
With 60 votes from Knesset, ex-commando & self-made tech millionaire Naftali Bennett is officially the new Prime Minister for Israel.
Naftali Bennett is officially the new Prime Minister for Israel, as he receives 60 votes from the Knesset on Sunday, ending Netanyahu’s 12-year rule.
In less than 2 years, Israel held its 4th election, and if this shows anything, it is that political instability and divisions have become ingrained in Israeli society.
In his address, Bennett said: “Twice in history, we have lost our national home precisely because the leaders of the generation were not able to sit with one and another and compromise. Each was right, yet with all their being right, they burnt the house down on top of us. I am proud of the ability to sit together with people with very different views from my own.”
Bennett is a former tech entrepreneur, who made a name in politics with hardline right-wing rhetoric. Though Bennett and Netanyahu share the same ideology, the two have become increasingly opposed in the last two years.
Bennett is known for his anti-Palestine rhetoric. He supports the settlements, believes that the Palestinians have no rights in the West Bank, and opposes the two-state solution.
In 2014, Bennett attacked Netanyahu for a proposed peace deal that aimed to leave Jewish settlers under Palestinian rule in the West Bank.
“Do you know why, why Jews cannot live under Palestinian rule, why Palestinians can’t rule over Jews? Because they will kill them,” Bennett said at a conference in Tel Aviv.
Despite the hostile rhetoric, one can argue that the new government is not as strong as that of Netanyahu. Truth to be said, the government is fragile. Indeed, the different Israeli factions sidelined their ideological differences to oust Netanyahu. Now with Netanyahu out, the government will struggle to keep these ideological differences aside.
Add to this, though Netanyahu lost, he will use his typical propaganda in the Knesset to thwart the so-called sabotage attempts of Bennett and Lapid.
What’s in it for Palestine: The first thing, we need to understand that the Intifada has to continue. The Palestinians should seize the opportunity that the new Israeli government is fragile. Despite his hostile rhetoric, Bennett is not as strong as Netanyahu. At the end of the day, he is aware of the fact that the Arab parties are part of the government, losing their confidence, is not the right decision. If our predictions of the government failure are wrong, then the Intifada has to continue. Believe it or not, the new government is not as powerful as the Palestinians, it’s divided.