The 12-year tenure of Benjamin Netanyahu as Israeli Prime Minister has come to an abrupt end following a majority vote casted by Israeli’s Parliament in favor of a new Government.
The vote was close: 60 in favor, 59 against.
The newly elected coalition will be headed by nationalist Naftali Bennett.
Under the coalition deal, Bennett, a 49-year-old Orthodox Jew and high-tech millionaire, will be replaced as prime minister in 2023 by centrist Yair Lapid, 57, a popular former television host.
With his far-right Yamina party winning only six of parliament’s 120 seats in the last election, Bennett’s ascension to the premiership can be described as a political jaw-dropper.
However, Palestinians were unmoved by the new Government predicting that Bennett, a former defence chief who advocates annexing parts of the occupied West Bank, would pursue the same right-wing agenda as Likud party leader Netanyahu.
Netanyahu was Israel’s longest-serving leader, serving as prime minister since 2009 after a first term from 1996 to 1999. He ruled for 15 years altogether.
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