Netanyahu still has a chance to hold onto power, but if anything unites this unlikely coalition, it is a desire for him to finally be gone
The end may finally be nigh. Photo: Abir Sultan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s days in office may be numbered, as opposition leaders on Sunday said they had the votes to form a coalition government and effectively oust him.
Bennett and Lapid had appeared on the verge of this deal weeks ago, but when war broke out between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and ethno-religious violence flared in Jerusalem and Israeli cities, Bennett called off those talks, saying at the time that he could not join a unity government that also included the United Arab List, an Islamist party, while Israel was at war with Hamas. The ceasefire brokered by Egypt on May 21 gave Bennett some breathing room.
Bennett, for his part, opposes Palestinian statehood, supports settlements in the West Bank, and favors annexing large parts of the occupied territory. He and Yamina are much closer ideologically to the prime minister’s Likud party than to the moderate Yesh Atid, and Bennett made clear on Sunday that he will not moderate his positions as leader of a unity government.
It’s never been wise to underestimate Netanyahu, and the task is hardly impossible, but if anything unites this unlikely coalition, it is a desire for him not to be prime minister anymore. Netanyahu is now Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, having served 15 years in office: from 1996-1999 and then continuously since 2009. He is also under indictment for corruption.
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