Hope, anger and defiance greet birth of Israel s new government msn.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from msn.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
About 35 minutes before a Wednesday midnight deadline, the centrist Yair Lapid told President Reuven Rivlin in an email: "I am honored to inform you that I have succeeded in forming a government."
By Ari Rabinovitch JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel s opposition leader moved closer to unseating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he told the country s president late on Wednesday that he has reached agreements with political allies to form a new government. Here is a timeline of events that led to the emerging coalition deal between centrist Yair Lapid and the far-right Naftali Bennett, and what happens next. March 23, 2021 - Israel holds its fourth inconclusive election in two years. As in every previous vote, no party won a majority in the 120-seat parliament. Netanyahu s right-wing Likud emerges as the biggest party. Lapid s centrist Yesh Atid (There is a Future) comes second. Bennett s Yamina (Rightwards) party wins just six seats, but he emerges as kingmaker. April 6 - President Reuven Rivlin gives Netanyahu 28 days to form a new government. He woos smaller right-wing and religious parties, including Yamina, but fails. May 5 - Rivlin turns to Lapid, who tries to form a governme
About 35 minutes before a Wednesday midnight deadline, the centrist Yair Lapid told President Reuven Rivlin in an email: “I am honored to inform you that I have succeeded in forming a government.”
Rivlin, attending Israel’s soccer cup final at the time, congratulated Lapid by phone, according to his office.
Lapid’s main partner is nationalist Naftali Bennett, who would serve as prime minister first under a rotation between the two men. Lapid, 57, a former TV host and finance minister, would take over after about two years.
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 – the United Arab List.