The Takeaway: Could a Bennett-Lapid coalition last in Israel?
Fractious politics makes for unstable governance; the scoop on Biden’s meeting with Israel’s Mossad chief; Gulf rethinks Chinese vaccine policies; more Egyptian mummies; Saudi Arabia; Turkey; and more!
Hot Take: Bennett, Lapid look to move fast to close the deal on government
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu couldn’t form a government by May 4, so next up is Yesh Atid (There is a Future) Chair Yair Lapid.
Done deal? Lapid already has a pact with Jewish Home Party (Yamina) leader Naftali Bennett to divide the prime ministerial duties, with Bennett going first, in a coalition built on nothing more than a shared determination to end Netanyahu’s run as prime minister — the longest in Israel’s history. That is if they can assemble the coalition.
Closing ranks. It remains to be seen whether Bennett’s far-right constituency will accept a deal with Lapid, the left and likely Arab Knesset members. Yamina Knesset member Amichai Chikli has already resigned in protest to a Yamina alliance with Lapid. Bennett can’t afford another defection. Ben Caspit says Yamina Knesset member and former Minister of Justice Ayelet Shaked could be kingmaker or deal-breaker of a Lapid-Bennett government.
