DONE! Netanyahu OUT as Israel Prime Minister; Criminal Corruption Trial can now proceed

Hal Turner,

14 June, 2021

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ousted from office on Sunday when Israeli lawmakers voted to install a new government.

It will the the first time in 12 years the country will be led by someone other than Netanyahu. 

Israel’s parliament approved the new power-sharing government led by Naftali Bennett, the Orthodox leader of Israel’s religious-nationalist movement and a former Netanyahu aide, in a close vote of confidence, 60-59 with one abstention, according to The New York Times.

The vote brings an end to Netanyahu’s long reign in Israel and marks the culmination of four elections the country has held in two years that failed to conclusively determine a ruling majority.

Netanyahu’s Likud-run government will now be replaced with a hodgepodge of Israeli parties that came together around the prospect of removing the sitting prime minister, despite their limited agreement on a number of policy issues.

The effort to oust Netanyahu by stitching together a coalition was spearheaded by Yair Lapid, the leader of the centrist Yesh Atid party.

His party teamed up with a number of right-wing parties, including Bennett’s Yamina party, in addition to the Raam party, which will now become the first Arab party to be part of a ruling coalition.

“We are incapable of sitting together — what is happening to us?” Bennett said during the meeting of parliament over boos and catcalls, according to The Washington Post.

“I am proud of sitting with people with who have very different opinions. We have decided to take responsibility,” he added.

Netanyahu in a tweet shortly after the vote vowed to return, and told his supporters to not let their spirit fall.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) in Jerusalem on June 6, 2021 [MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images]

Middle East Monitor,

June 13, 2021 at 7:09 pm

Israel’s longest-serving leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been ousted from office by a loose coalition of rivals from across the political spectrum, united by their wish to end his 12-year run in power.

Israel’s parliament voted 60-59 in favour of a new government on Sunday, ending Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year consecutive tenure as premier.

Following the announcement, Benjamin Netanyahu stated to Reuters: “We’ll be back, soon.” Netanyahu said he would work in the opposition to “topple this dangerous government” and return to power.

Ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett will head the new cabinet. Bennett, who has ruled out an independent Palestinian state and wants Israel to maintain ultimate control over all the lands it occupies, will be prime minister for the first two years of a four-year term before handing over to his centrist ally, Yair Lapid.

The self-described “government of change” – a mix of ideologically opposed politicians from hardline Jewish religious nationalists to a small Arab Islamist party – will be sworn in later on Sunday.

Reacting to the news, Hamas spokespersos Fawzi Barhoum said “Regardless of the shape of the government in Israel, it will not alter the way we look at the Zionist entity. It is an occupation and a colonial entity, which we should resist by force to get our rights back.”