Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today, Monday, that he is prepared to allow his rival and former aide Naftali Bennett to take the presidency of a coalition government first under a rotating principle, in order to avoid the formation of a leftist government. However, Naftali Bennett (49 years old), head of the far-right "Yamina" party, who has likely imposed himself as the new "kingmaker" after the recent elections in March, quickly denied that there is any deal being prepared with Netanyahu.
Netanyahu received a mandate from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin for 28 days to form a government, which can be extended for an additional two weeks at the president's discretion. This mandate ends at midnight Tuesday to Wednesday.
The elections highlighted significant political divides, being the fourth in Israel in about two years, and did not yield decisive results that would allow any candidate to form a majority in the Knesset (parliament), which consists of 120 members. Netanyahu has received support from two ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties and the far-right Religious Zionism alliance.
In an unprecedented shift in coalition formation policies in Israel, it seems impossible for either the right-wing bloc or the opposition to form a government without the support of the Southern Islamic Movement, "The United Arab List," led by Mansour Abbas, which won four seats.
So far, Netanyahu has faced the refusal of the leader of the Religious Zionism party, Bezalel Smotrich, to join a government supported by "the Islamic Movement," whose members have labeled Smotrich as "racist."
Netanyahu stated today that he is "willing to concede to the leader of Yamina, Naftali Bennett, to be prime minister first in a rotation for a year to keep the right in power." He explained that the aim of this is "to prevent the formation of a left-leaning government," adding, "I informed Naftali Bennett that I would be willing to accept his request for a rotating deal where he becomes prime minister first for a year."
Support from Yamina, led by Bennett and holding 7 seats in parliament, would bring the right-wing bloc closer to a majority of 61 seats, but it would not guarantee a stable coalition. Bennett stated at the start of his faction's session on Monday that Netanyahu's proposal is "incomprehensible."
He clarified that he did not ask Netanyahu for the position of prime minister but requested him to form a government coalition, which he unfortunately cannot accomplish. He added that Netanyahu could not reach an agreement with the right-wing parties and addressed him saying, "You have no government because of Smotrich, and you are trying to blame me for that."
Bennett pledged to pursue the formation of a national unity government if Netanyahu fails to do so. He, a former businessman and millionaire, affirmed that he is "still ideologically committed to the right." However, he stressed that his priority is "to end the unprecedented political stalemate in Israel and to avoid a fifth election in less than three years." He confirmed, "I am ready to form a right-wing government today rather than tomorrow."
If Netanyahu fails to form a majority government within the available time, President Rivlin is likely to assign Yair Lapid, a former news anchor, to the task. Lapid's "Yesh Atid" centrist party secured second place in the March elections, and he emphasized on Monday that he would not allow Bennett to be tasked with forming the government instead of him. Lapid had offered Bennett a rotating premiership after the elections, with the Yamina leader heading the government first for two years, which is considered an unusual move given Lapid received 45 endorsements while Bennett only received 7.
