Israel: the opposition announced a new government without …

After weeks of arduous negotiations to seal an alliance that for the first time in 12 years, he could remove Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, centrist Yair Lapid from power announced that succeeded in forming a government in Israel. If ratified by parliament, the new government coalition will be led by ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett for the first two years and will be replaced by Lapid for the next two.

The alliance is so heterogeneous that it disagrees on almost every issue, the relationship with the Palestinians, the economic renewal or the place of religion: their only common point is the desire to oust Netanyahu, who came to power 25 years ago and reigned from 1996 to 1999 before being re-elected in 2009. Known for his political survival and haunted by justice in three corruption cases, his end in government would be near.

“This government will do everything possible to unite all sectors of Israeli society,” Lapid assured Israeli President Reuven Rivlin., by informing him by means of a press release that he had reached the number of seats necessary to take power. “I congratulate you and the party leaders for agreeing to form a government.. We hope that the Knesset will meet as soon as possible to ratify the Executive, ”he replied. Rivlin.

“It is a night of great hope. I congratulate my partners in the change bloc and wish the State of Israel every success.”, tweeted the Israeli Defense Minister, Benny Gantz, who could keep his post in the next government. Local media also reported that the Justice portfolio would be held by Guideon Saar, while Avigdor Lieberman would be in charge of Finance.

The two main leaders of this new alliance, which will also rotate the post of prime minister during the next term if approved, are Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett. The motley coalition also includes the ultra-nationalists of Lieberman, Israel Beitenu and the New Hope of Saar, the Blue and White, the more moderate Labor and Meretz of Gantz, two forces considered to be center-left, and the Palestinian Islamist party Raam. . The last time an Arab party backed an executive, although without entering it, dates back to 1992 during the “reign of peace” of Isaac Rabin.

All of these forces were needed for Lapid and Bennett to gain the support of the 61 Knesset seats that Netanyahu and his Likud party failed to secure in recent years, despite the first minority winning in successive elections. Now Lapid will have seven days to distribute the wallets and get a vote of confidence in Parliament. According to the Israeli press, the president of the Knesset and leader of the ruling Likud, Yariv Levin, would try to delay the vote by a week in the hope that by then the anti-Netanyahu agreement falls.

In front of the hotel where talks took place until late Wednesday night, hundreds of demonstrators for and against the “change coalition” gathered with Israeli flags, amid a large police operation.

Within the government’s motley alliance, one of the main disputes remains the appointment of members of the judicial appointments commission, in which Ayelet Shaked, Yamina’s number two and advocate for in-depth judicial reform, aims to take the place that was given to Labor leader Merav Michaeli.

Another obstacle would be the demand of Mansour Abbas, leader of the Raam party, to repeal a 2018 law which he says hinders construction in Arab communities. The newspaper Jerusalem post He argued that Abbas negotiated all the way in parallel with Netanyahu and when he proposed the suspension, the Palestinian Islamist leader demanded the same from Yapid and Bennett. “The decision was difficult and there were several disputes, but it was important to reach agreements,” said the leader of Raam.

These differences highlight the limits of an alliance based solely on the desire to overthrow Netanyahu, who served as prime minister for 12 years and who, after being the first to be given the mandate to form an executive, failed to put together the right-wing coalition he wanted.

Netanyahu faces trial for corruption in three cases, making him the first Israeli head of government to face criminal prosecution during his tenure. If the new government is approved in parliament and Netanyahu finally leaves power, he will become a backbench and lose his influence in an attempt to pass a law that protects him from his legal problems.

Until the time of the vote in the Knesset and even during that same day, nothing will be closed and everything can change, now that the agreements reached by the parties on Wednesday are political in nature and do not bind them legally. The deputies could still reconsider their position or even vote against its ratification during the oath.

While a member of Yamina has already announced that he could vote against the formation of the new government, others have expressed their doubts.Consequently, the next few days will be decisive for the continuation of the negotiations which guarantee the necessary votes. On the other hand, parties that are not part of the executive, including Likud, will have the opportunity to challenge the legality of agreements reached in an attempt to hinder their formation.

If the self-proclaimed “government of change” took shape, Netanyahu would step down as prime minister and lead the opposition through his party, the Likud. In addition, Israel would emerge from more than two-year political blockade that included four general elections.