After a 12-year hold on power in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu has lost his position after the country’s parliament voted in a new coalition government yesterday.
The new government which has been termed ‘government of change’ will be led by right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett of the Yamina party Africa Daily News, New York has learnt.
He will lead an unprecedented coalition of parties which was approved with a razor-thin majority vote of 60-59.
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Mr. Bennett will be prime minister until September 2023 as part of a power-sharing deal reached before the decision.
He will hand power over to Yair Lapid, leader of the centrist Yesh Atid, for a further two years. Speaking in the Knesset debate, he said: ‘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.’
Mr Netanyahu has served a record-breaking five terms, first from 1996 to 1999, then continuously from 2009 to 2021.
He called an election in April 2019 but failed to win enough support to form a new coalition government. Two more elections followed, each of which ended inconclusively.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
