Bibi Finally Out As “Change Coalition” Moves Fast On Knesset Approval

It’s official: just before midnight local time Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid party notified President Reuven Rivlin that he’s successfully formed a power-sharing government, which means the country’s longest-serving prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is out.

The 71-year-old Netanyahu has long been dubbed “the magician” by supporters for his history of being able to politically survive time and again against multiple near-misses. But as Axios notes, “But he’s not out quite yet” – and there’s still time to wreak havoc on Iran in a desperate bid to cancel the nuclear deal with world powers.

 Lapid’s coalition still has to survive a confidence vote in parliament, which would lead to Netanyahu being replaced initially by Naftali Bennet – himself a longtime Netanyahu protegee and close ally who Sunday night ‘flipped’ against the PM – earning him and his Yamina party condemnations of “traitor” from the right-wing.

It all began with the Sunday night political shocker wherein Bennett surprised the world by announcingplans to align with Lapid to oust Netanyahu. Israeli politics have been gridlocked as Netanyahu managed to barely hold on as no unity government could be formed over no less than four elections in two years. 

Axios underscores it’s a “seismic event” for the region and for the world: “We are on the verge of a seismic event in Israeli politics, with Israel’s longest-serving prime minister and the man who has dominated the country’s politics and relations with the world for over a decade on the verge of being replaced,” Barak Ravid writes. 

BREAKING: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader, has been ousted as Prime Minister.

Rival parties say they have reached a coalition to name far-right nationalist Naftali Bennett, who supports illegal settlements and opposes Palestinian rights, to replace him. pic.twitter.com/mCgIIzYe4I

— AJ+ (@ajplus) June 2, 2021

Also of note in the impending unity government is that “The announcement was made possible by the unprecedented decision of the Islamist Ra’am party — which would be the first Arab party to enter an Israeli government — to unite with Bennett and Lapid.”