© GRAPHIC NEWS
POLITÍCA
El gobierno más improbable en la historia de Israel
June 3, 2021 - En el drama político más reciente de Israel una mezcla diversa de ocho partidos de oposición forma una coalición para expulsar al primer ministro veterano Benjamin Netanyahu, en el poder los pasados 12 años.
Yair Lapid, the leader of the Israeli opposition, had until midnight on Wednesday (June 2) to stitch together the coalition. He needed every minute -- leaving it until 23:22 before informing Reuven Rivlin, Israel’s largely ceremonial president, that he had assembled an alliance. The proposed government will have 62 seats in the 120-seat Knesset (parliament).
The coalition agreement to form a government and oust Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in Israeli history, could ease a political impasse that has produced four elections in two years.
Combining political parties from the left to the far right, the alliance includes a small Islamist Arab party known by its Hebrew acronym R’aam or United Arab List. R’aam would become the first Arab group to join a right-leaning coalition in Israeli history.
The alliance would be led until 2023 by Naftali Bennett, a religiously observant former settler leader who opposes a Palestinian state and wants Israel to annex most of the occupied West Bank. The former ally of Netanyahu is seen by many as more right-wing than the prime minister.
If the government survives a four-year term, it would be led between 2023 and 2025 by Lapid.
The Knesset must ratify the fragile agreement in a confidence vote in the coming days.
- Lapid still struggling to close gaps with Ayelet Shaked and Islamist party (Times of Israel)
- Wide-Ranging Israel Coalition Reaches Deal to Form Government (New York Times)
- Netanyahu’s Refusal to Cede Power Made Others Try to Wrest It (Bloomberg)
- Explainer: Israel is set for a change of government. Who? When? Why? (Reuters)