Race against time to form a government without Ne …

At the end of the deadline given to centrist Yair Lapid to form a new executive in Israel, opposition bloc continues to negotiate final details of “government of change” that would end political blockade lasting more than two years and with 12 consecutive years of Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister. The marathon of meetings continued on Tuesday between the teams of the main leaders of the left, center and part of the right, including Yamina, the formation of the ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett What could be prime minister in a power rotation system. So far, the anti-Netanyahu coalition is reportedly adding 58 parliamentary seats while 61 are needed to form a new government, so it is seeking the support of Israeli Arab parties, which should vote without seeking cabinet positions.

The leaders of the main factions, including opposition leader Yair Lapid, met in a hotel on the outskirts of Tel Aviv “with the aim of reaching an agreement”Yamina reported in a statement. “We are going in the right direction”, underlined the leader of the Islamist party Raam, Mansour Abbas, arriving at the meeting. “But you can’t say that something is over until it is over”added.

All eyes are now on this formation and the other Israeli Arab party in the United List, considering that anti-Netanyahu camp needs only three more backers to reach majority of 61 MPs needed to form government.

After fundamental support for the new government of the ultra-nationalist Yamina, all of its leaders have publicly declared their willingness to join the new government. However, there are still some disputes to be resolved. One of the main ones, according to digital portal Ynet, is the will of number two on Yamina’s list, Ayelet shaken, who predict to occupy The place of Labor leader Merav Michaeli in the judicial appointments commission.

This decision would grant a majority on the right wing of the Executive when appointing, for example, Supreme Court justices. Shaked, a former justice minister between 2015 and 2019, was one of the strongest voices in the Conservative parties’ campaign to limit the powers of the court and reform the justice system as a whole.

Alongside these negotiations, a growing trend captured the country’s media and political attention on Tuesday: the death threats against potential members of the new government and even their families. MP Tamar Zandberg, from the left-wing Meretz group, had to leave her home after receiving threats against her and her baby. One of those threats was a certificate announcing his death., which has gone viral on social media.

Members of the far right Israel Nuestro Hogar also accused of receiving death threats, including against their leader, Avigdor Lieberman, who He said he feared Israel would experience a situation similar to the assault on the Capitol. by radicalized supporters of former US President Donald Trump.

In the last days Bennett and Shaked, of the Yamina movement, received threats and were even the target of protests which arrived at the door of their residences., which led to increased security for the deputy minister and the former minister. Analysts and political leaders accuse Netanyahu and other members of his Likud party of inciting violence with their strong rhetoric against members of the opposition bloc.

During a speech on Sunday, the current prime minister accused Bennett to “betray” the majority of citizens who voted for the right-wing parties and he assured that he was launching “the fraud of the century”. In this tense context, many Israelis fear drift like in 1995, when a Jewish extremist assassinated Prime Minister Isaac Rabin.

After the parliamentary elections in March and Netanyahu’s failure to form a coalition, President Reuven Rivlin handed the difficult task to centrist Lapid.. The former television star has until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday to present his draft agreement for a “government of national unity”, which would allow Israel to emerge from two years of political crisis.

But local media reported that Lapid and Bennett reportedly seek to announce government early in the morning, to avoid delays in sending to Parliament (Knesset). Under Israeli law, once a lawmaker appointed by the president to form a government announces that he is successful, the Knesset has one week to schedule a vote of confidence in the room. For it, any kind of delay is worth gold for Netanyahu and Likud in their attempt to stay in power and put obstacles in the opposition front until the last moment.

Everything from the plight of the Palestinians, economic recovery to the place of religion, divides this disparate alliance, except its drive to topple Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister in Israel’s history. Tried for corruption in three cases, “Bibi” is the first Israeli head of government to face criminal charges during his tenure. And these lawsuits could affect him if he loses his immunity as prime minister.