Israel’s Parliament has put an end to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year rule as it approved a new coalition government led by Netanyahu’s former aide Naftali Bennett.
The Knesset approved the opposition coalition by a slim margin: 60 to 59, with one abstention, putting an end to the two-year political gridlock in the Middle East country.
Bennett will hold office for two years until 2023, after whcih he will hand over the leadership to centrist leader Yair Lapid.
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The anti-Netanyahu bloc is composed of three right-wing, two centrist, and two left-wing parties, along with an Arab Islamic conservative party.
Bennett called on all sides of the political spectrum to display restraint, as The Jerusalem Post quoted Bennett saying that Israel had stopped being managed as a country in the recent year.
“There is no disengagement here. There is no harm being caused to anyone. There is a change of government in a democracy. That’s it. And I assure it is a government that will work for the sake of all the people,” Bennett said in his speech.
In his address Bennett vowed to prevent the nuclearization of Iran and would not allow Hamas to rocket fire on Israeli citizens from Gaza.
He also expressed his thanks to US President Joe Biden for his support during the recent clash between Israel and Gaza and pledged to maintain bipartisan support in the US.
Bennett also vowed the new government would take unprecedented steps to reach out to their Arab neighbors. (RA)
