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Israeli parties in final sprint to build anti-Netanyahu coalition
They only have until the end of the day -- 2059 GMT -- to cobble together an administration that would end 12 straight years of rule by the hawkish heavyweight, Israel's longest-ruling premier.
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Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid (There Is a Future) party, arrives at the Israeli President's residence in Jerusalem on May 5, 2021. (AFP/Oren Ben Hakoon)
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raeli politicians battling to unseat veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have until just before midnight Wednesday to make their "change" coalition, composed of bitter ideological rivals, viable.
They only have until the end of the day -- 2059 GMT -- to cobble together an administration that would end 12 straight years of rule by the hawkish heavyweight, Israel's longest-ruling premier.
The high-stakes push is led by former TV presenter Yair Lapid, a secular centrist, who on Sunday won the crucial support of hardline religious nationalist Naftali Bennett, a tech multi-millionaire.
"The coalition negotiation team sat all night and made progress toward creating a unity government," a Bennett spokesman said in a statement.
But to reach a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset, their unlikely alliance would also have to include other left and right-wing parties -- and would probably need the support of Arab-Israeli politicians.
That would result in a government riven by deep ideological differences on flashpoint issues such as Jewish settlements in the Israel-occupied West Bank and the role of religion in politics.
Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party, was tasked with forming a government by President Reuven Rivlin after Netanyahu again failed to put together his own coalition following Israel's fourth inconclusive election in less than two years.
Lapid has reportedly agreed to allow Bennett, who heads the Yamina party, to serve first as a rotating prime minister in a power-sharing agreement, before swapping with him halfway through their term.
Late Tuesday, a source close to the negotiations told AFP negotiators were hammering away to "finalise a deal as soon as possible".
Israel's latest political turmoil adds to the woes of Netanyahu, who is on trial for criminal charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust while in office -- accusations he denies.
If he were to lose power, he would not be able to push through changes to basic laws that could give him immunity, and would lose control over certain Justice Ministry nominations.
