Yair Lapid, head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, delivers a statement to the press before the party faction meeting at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem (Photo : Debbie Hill/Pool via REUTERS)
Israel's opposition leader moved closer to unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday when he completed coalition deals with political allies to form a new government, Israel's Army Radio reported.
About one hour before a midnight deadline, Yair Lapid, a centrist who has the task of forming the next governing coalition after the right-wing Netanyahu failed to do so in the wake of a March 23 election, was expected to officially inform President Reuven Rivlin that he has the backing of a majority of Knesset members to press ahead and swear in a new Cabinet.
Lapid's main partner is nationalist Naftali Bennett, who would serve as premier first under a proposed rotation between the two men. Their coalition government would comprise a patchwork of small and medium parties from across the political spectrum, including for the first time in Israel's history a party that represents Israel's 21% Arab minority.
But the fragile new government, which would command a razor-thin majority in parliament, was only expected to be sworn in in around 10 days, leaving slight room for Netanyahu's camp to try and abort it by turning lawmakers over to their side and vote against it. Israeli political analysts widely expected Netanyahu to try every possible political manoeuvre to make this happen.
During a 12-year run in top office, Israel's longest serving leader has been an often polarising figure at home and abroad. An end to his tenure may bring reprieve from domestic political turmoil, but major shifts in Israel's foreign policy appear less likely from the staunch U.S. ally.
