Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial 12-year reign as Prime Minister of Israel appeared to be nearing an end on Wednesday night.
Netanyahu, who goes by the nickname Bibi, has dominated Israeli politics for decades.
A coalition of his political rivals agreed ahead of a midnight deadline to form a new government under Yair Lapid.
Lapid, a centrist, will be joining up with the right-winger Naftali Bennet and several left-leaning parties, meaning the new government will span the ideological spectrum.
All doubts that the opposition would be able to find enough members of Israel’s parliament were dispelled when the United Arab List under Mansour Abbas agreed to join the coalition. This brought the number of members in the coalition above 61 in the 120-member body.
This is the first time that an Arab party has become a partner in an Israeli government.
Abbas said that: “We agreed to form a government after we reached critical agreements on various issues that serve the interests of Arab society.”
Arabs make up about 20 % of the Israeli population. However, the number of Palestinians that populate the occupied territory of the West Bank and the Gaza strip outnumber the Jews in Israel.
The parliament has a week to approve the new arrangements.
Netanyahu remains on trial, charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust.
Image source: @tariqazk
