JERUSALEM: In a bid to unseat Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s, his rivals on Monday sought to finalise a unity coalition; however, political commentators saw a bitter fight ahead.
Centrist opposition chief Yair Lapid secured support on Sunday from ultranationalist Naftali Bennett for a “change” government of ideologically disparate rivals.
The deal, in which Bennett would serve first as prime minister under a rotation with Lapid, must be finalised by a deadline of midnight (2200GMT) on Wednesday.
Hoping to discredit Bennett and other rightists now negotiating with Lapid, Netanyahu has cast them as committing “the fraud of the century” which would, he said, imperil Israel.
“A week from now, the State of Israel can be in a new era. Suddenly it will be quieter. Ministers will go to work without inciting, without lying, without trying to instil fear all of the time,” he said in a televised address.
Though he described Bennett as “my friend, the prime minister-designate” and voiced hope of a deal before Wednesday, Lapid cautioned: “There are still plenty of obstacles in the way of the formation of the new government.”
Israelis were divided about everything except the folly of writing Netanyahu off.
“An event took place yesterday whose importance cannot be overstated. A real possibility was created … an alternative government in every sense of the word,” wrote Sima Kadmon in the best-selling Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
