Foreign

Israel’s Parliament Ends 12 Years Of Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel’s parliament has voted to end Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year-long tenure as prime minister, approving in his stead an administration that has pledged to heal a nation bitterly divided over the departure of the country’s longest-serving leader.

Naftali Bennett, the head of a small ultranationalist party, was sworn in as prime minister after a narrow 60-59 vote in parliament. But if he wants to keep the job, he will have to maintain an unwieldy coalition of parties from the political right, left and center.

The new government will be formed by centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid and Bennett – who will serve as premier for two years before Lapid takes over.

They will head a government of parties from across the political spectrum, including for the first time one that represents the 21-percent minority comprising Palestinian citizens of Israel.

Al Jazeera’s senior political analyst, Marwan Bishara, described the event as a “family feud”, saying that there are no ideological differences between the old and new prime minister.

“They are basically all belonging to the same right wing Zionist family,” Bishara said, referring to Netanyahu and Bennett.

“The differences between them have been personal, vindictive,” he said.

End of an era

Netanyahu sat silently during the vote. After it was approved, he stood up to leave the chamber, before turning around and shaking Bennett’s hand. A dejected Netanyahu, wearing a black medical mask, briefly sat in the opposition leader’s chair before walking out.

Netanyahu, the most dominant Israeli politician of his generation, failed to form a government after Israel’s March 23 election, its fourth in two years.

The 71-year-old is loved by his hard-core supporters and loathed by critics. His ongoing corruption trial, on charges he denies, has only deepened the chasm.

He remains the head of the largest party in parliament and is expected to vigorously oppose the new government. If just one faction bolts, it could lose its majority and would be at risk of collapse, giving him an opening to return to power.

His opponents have long reviled what they see as Netanyahu’s divisive rhetoric, underhanded political tactics and subjection of state interests to his political survival.

His opponents have long reviled what they see as Netanyahu’s divisive rhetoric, underhanded political tactics and subjection of state interests to his political survival.

The country’s deep divisions were on vivid display earlier on Sunday as Bennett, a former settler leader and hard-right religious nationalist who has called for the annexation of most of the occupied West Bank, addressed parliament ahead of the vote.

He was repeatedly interrupted and loudly heckled by supporters of Netanyahu, several of whom were escorted out of the chamber.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said it has been a very “disrupted … attempt to have a peaceful transition of power”.

The country’s deep divisions were on vivid display earlier on Sunday as Bennett, a former settler leader and hard-right religious nationalist who has called for the annexation of most of the occupied West Bank, addressed parliament ahead of the vote.

He was repeatedly interrupted and loudly heckled by supporters of Netanyahu, several of whom were escorted out of the chamber.

Al Jazeera’s Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem, said it has been a very “disrupted … attempt to have a peaceful transition of power”.

Bennett’s attempt to deliver his speech with what was supposed to be conciliatory words to Netanyahu, was “immediately interrupted by catcalls of all sorts of oppositional natures from members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc,” Fawcett said.

“Some of those members of the Knesset were … escorted out of the chamber.”

Credit: Al Jazeera

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