The new cabinet, which can be sworn in after a Knesset confidence vote it's expected to win, was cobbled together by the centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid and ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year hold on power was set to finish on Sunday when parliament votes on a replacement government, introduction an administration that has pledged to heal a nation bitterly divided over the departure of the country's longest serving leader.
Netanyahu, 71, the foremost dominant Israeli politician of his generation, had did not form a government after Israel's March 23 election, its fourth in two years. The new cabinet, which can be sworn in after a Knesset confidence vote it's expected to win, was cobbled together by the centrist opposition leader Yair Lapid and ultra-nationalist Naftali Bennett.
Bennett, a hawkish hi-tech millionaire, will function premier for 2 years before Lapid, a former popular TV host, takes over. they're going to head a government that comprises parties from across the political spectrum, including for the primary time one that represents the 21% Arab minority. They plan largely to avoid sweeping moves on hot-button international issues like policy toward the Palestinians while they specialise in domestic reforms.
With little to no prospect of progress toward resolving the decades-long conflict with Israel, many Palestinians are going to be unmoved by the change of administration, saying Bennett will likely pursue an equivalent right-wing agenda as Netanyahu.
On the international stage, together with his polished English and booming baritone , the telegenic Netanyahu has become the face of Israel. Serving in his first term as prime minister within the 1990s and since 2009 winning four more terms in succession, he has been a polarising figure, both abroad and reception .
Often mentioned by his nickname Bibi, Netanyahu is loved by his hard-core supporters and loathed by critics. His ongoing corruption trial, on charges he denies, has only deepened the chasm.
His opponents have long reviled what they see as Netanyahu's divisive rhetoric, underhanded political tactics and subjection of state interests to his own political survival. Some have dubbed him 'Crime Minister' and have accused him of mishandling the coronavirus crisis and its economic fallout.
Celebrations by his opponents to mark the top of the Netanyahu era began late on Saturday outside his official residence in Jerusalem, the location of weekly protests against the right-wing leader for the past year, where a black banner stretched across a wall read: "Bye Bye, Bibi, Bye bye", and demonstrators sang, beat drums and danced.
But for Netanyahu's large and constant voter base, the departure of "King Bibi" as some call him, could also be difficult to simply accept . His supporters are angered by what they see because the country turning its back on a pacesetter dedicated to its security and a bulwark against international pressure for any steps that would cause a Palestinian state, whilst he promoted diplomatic deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
None of these moves, however, nor the role he played in securing COVID-19 vaccines for the country's world-beating inoculation campaign, were enough to grant Netanyahu's Likud party enough votes to secure him a sixth term in office.
Bennett especially has drawn anger from within the right-wing camp for breaking a campaign pledge by joining forces with Lapid. He has justified the move by saying another election, which might likely be called were no government formed, would are a disaster for Israel.
Both he and Lapid have said they need to bridge political divides and unite Israelis under a government which will exerting for all its citizens.
Their cabinet faces considerable diplomatic, security and financial challenges: Iran, a fragile ceasefire with Palestinian militants in Gaza, a war crimes probe by the International court , and economic recovery following the coronavirus pandemic.
On top of that, their patchwork coalition of parties commands only a razor-thin majority in parliament, 61 of the Knesset's 120 seats, and can still need to deal with Netanyahu - who is certain to be a combative head of the opposition. And nobody is ruling out a Netanyahu comeback.
