Opponents reach coalition deal to oust Netanyahu

JERUSALEM (AP):

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents announced they have reached a deal to form a new governing coalition, paving the way for the ouster of the long-time Israeli leader.

The dramatic announcement by opposition leader Yair Lapid and his main coalition partner, Naftali Bennett, came moments before a midnight deadline and prevented the country from plunging into what would have been its fifth consecutive election in just over two years.

In a statement on Twitter, Lapid said he had informed the country’s president of the deal. “This government will work for all the citizens of Israel, those that voted for it and those that didn’t. It will do everything to unite Israeli society,” he said.

Under the agreement, Lapid and Bennett will split the job of prime minister in a rotation. Bennett will serve the first two years, while Lapid is to serve the final two years. The historic deal also includes a small Islamist party, the United Arab List, which would make it the first Arab party ever to be part of a governing coalition.

The agreement still needs to be approved by the Knesset, or parliament, in a vote that is expected to take place early next week. If it goes through, Lapid and his diverse array of partners will end the record-setting 12-year rule of Netanyahu.

Netanyahu, desperate to remain in office while he fights corruption charges, is expected to do everything possible in the coming days to prevent the new coalition from taking power. If he fails, he will be pushed into the opposition.

Israeli media reported some lingering disagreements over lower-level political appointments. According to the reports, Ayelet Shaked, Bennett’s deputy in the Yamina party, was demanding a place on a committee that chooses the nation’s judges.

But Shaked, a prominent voice in Israel’s hard-line right wing, has expressed misgivings about joining forces with the dovish members of the emerging coalition.

Both Shaked and Bennett have come under heavy pressure from Netanyahu and the country’s right wing base not to join his opponents. The Knesset has assigned additional security guards to both in recent days because of death threats and online incitement.

Netanyahu’s Likud won the most seats in the March 23 election, but he was unable to form a majority with his traditional religious and nationalist allies.

Crucially, a far-right party allied with Netanyahu refused to join forces with a small Arab party that emerged as one of the kingmakers in the race.

Netanyahu had hoped to extend his long rule and battle the corruption charges from the prime minister’s office. He has emerged as a deeply polarising force in recent years, leaving Israel in a prolonged state of political limbo through a series of inconclusive elections.

An emergency government formed last year between Netanyahu and former military chief Benny Gantz to battle the coronavirus pandemic quickly became mired in political bickering and collapsed in December. That government remains in place as caretaker.