Bye bye Bibi: Netanyahu could be on way out after opposition parties strike deal
A coalition of opposition parties has struck a deal to remove Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from power after twelve years.
Centrist Yair Lapid has engineered a group including Jewish nationalists and Arab-Israelis into a wafer-thin majority in the Knesset after years of electoral deadlock in the country.
If the deal makes it through Parliament over the next few days, hardliner Naftali Bennett will replace Benjamin Netanyahu.
Lapid would follow in a rotating arrangement.
“I pledge that this government will work in the service of all Israeli citizens, those who voted for it and those who did not,” Lapid said in a statement.
“It will respect its opponents and do everything in its power to unite and connect all parts of Israeli society.”
While a parliamentary vote is need needed before the government can be sworn in, it is the first time in decades an Arab-Israeli party has joined the government.
However, if the coalition fails to rally the support of the majority, the country risks going into another stage of elections – its fifth bout of elections in just two years.