Monday, May 31, 2021

Israeli Opposition Parties Unite in Bid to Oust Netanyahu | DW News

Political opponents of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are joining forces - with little in common besides a desire to oust him.

A former Netanyahu aide and right-wing hardliner, Naftali Bennett, says he's looking to form a diverse minority government and avoid another round of elections in Israel and put an end to the Netanyahu era.

Netanyahu has been on the defensive for some time. Israel's longest serving prime minister has been able to brush off public outrage over corruption charges. But after failing to form a majority government after the fourth election in two years, Netanyahu's hold on power had become tenuous.

Former TV Host Yair Lapid is determined to pull together parties from the far right to the left, including Arab-Israeli parties. The commitment by Bennett, who leads the right-wing, pro-settler Yamina party, is crucial to the proposed alliance.

Netanyahu responded by painting the broad coalition as a threat to national security. But he knows that the biggest threat posed by the new government is to current prime minister himself.