Minutes before deadline expires, Israel gets new government
Minutes before his mandate expired, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid announced that he had called President Reuven Rivlin to tell him that Lapid had signed agreements providing the support needed to form a government that will oust Benjamin Netanyahu from power.
Yesh Atid party leader Yair Lapid told President Reuven Rivlin late Wednesday that Lapid had managed to cobble together a majority-backed government. Final agreements for the establishment of the new government were reached about an hour before the midnight deadline.
Lapid tweeted, “I just notified Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin that I succeeded in the mission of assembling a government. I pledge that this government will work at the service of all Israeli citizens — those who voted for it and those who did not. It will respect its opponents and will do whatever it can to unite and reconnect all parts of Israeli society.’’
