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LAST UPDATE | 13 Jun 2021
AN ALLIANCE OF Israeli parties HAVE ousted Benjamin Netanyahu, the country’s longest-serving prime minister, and formed a new government in a seismic shift in the country’s turbulent politics.
Naftali Bennett, a right-wing Jewish nationalist and former tech millionaire, will take over at the helm of the eight-party bloc, united only by their shared disdain for the hawkish right-wing leader known as Bibi.
Netanyahu (71) in typically combative style, vowed shortly before his defeat that “if it’s our destiny to be in the opposition, we’ll do so with our heads high until we take down this bad government and return to lead the country our way”.
Described as “King Bibi” by his right-wing supporters and condemned as the “crime minister” by his critics, Netanyahu has long been the dominant, and increasingly divisive, figure in Israeli politics.
But today, a vote in the Knesset legislature following weeks of intense political drama ended his government with a razor-thin majority of 60 to 59 in the 120-seat chamber.
In Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, Netanyahu’s opponents broke out in cheers and launched into an evening of joyous celebrations, having rallied in recent days with “Bye bye Bibi” placards.
One of the demonstrators, Tal Surkis, 19, confessed to “mixed feelings” about the incoming change coalition, but said “it’s something Israel needs”.
Bennett, 49, in a Knesset speech before the vote, promised the new government, a coalition of ideologically divergent parties, “represents all of Israel”.
He said the country, after four inconclusive elections in under two years, had been thrown “into a maelstrom of hatred and in-fighting”.
“The time has come for different leaders, from all parts of the population, to stop, to stop this madness”, he said, to angry shouts of “liar” and “criminal” from right-wing opponents.
Netanyahu, who is battling corruption charges in an ongoing trial he dismisses as a conspiracy, has been the dominant Israeli politician of his generation, having also served a previous three-year term in the 1990s.
His supporters have hailed him as a strong defender of Israel who has been tough on arch foe Iran, but also struck a series of historic normalisation deals with several Arab nations last year.
Being ousted from the top job will leave Netanyahu more exposed to his legal woes, because it denies him the chance to push through parliament changes to basic laws that could give him immunity.
Bennett, a former defence minister under Netanyahu, vowed to keep Israel safe from Iran, promising that “Israel won’t let Iran have nuclear weapons” — a goal the Islamic republic denies pursuing.
Netanyahu, true to his reputation as Israel’s “Mr Security”, charged that “Iran is celebrating” the launch of what he charged would be a “dangerous” and weak left-wing government.
The diverse anti-Netanyahu bloc was cobbled together by the secular centrist Yair Lapid, a former TV presenter.
It spans the political spectrum, including three right-wing, two centrist and two left-wing parties, along with an Arab Islamic conservative party.
Lapid (57) is to serve as foreign minister for the next two years before taking over from Bennett.
The improbable alliance emerged weeks after an 11-day war between Israel and Hamas, the Islamist group that rules the Palestinian enclave of Gaza, and following inter-communal violence in Israeli cities with significant Arab populations.
Netanyahu, who long ago earned a reputation as Israel’s ultimate political survivor, in his final days in office tried to peel off defectors, hoping to deprive the nascent coalition of its wafer-thin legislative majority, to no avail.
He accused Bennett of “fraud” for siding with rivals, and angry rallies by the premier’s Likud party supporters resulted in security being bolstered for some lawmakers.
Netanyahu’s opponents accused him and his allies of stoking tensions in a “scorched-earth” campaign.
Netanyahu’s bombastic remarks as he saw his grip on power slip drew parallels at home and abroad to former US president Donald Trump, who described his election loss last year as the result of a rigged vote.
Sunday’s vote came at a time of heightened tensions in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which has grown more bitter in the Netanyahu years, in part due to the expansion of settlements considered illegal under international law in the occupied West Bank.
Meanwhile, right-wing anger has grown in Israel over last week’s postponement of a controversial Jewish nationalist march through flashpoint areas of east Jerusalem.
The “March of the Flags” is now slated for Tuesday, and the agitation surrounding it could represent a key initial test for a new coalition government.
Gaza’s rulers Hamas said that the political developments in Jerusalem wouldn’t change its relationship with Israel.
“The form the Israeli government takes doesn’t change the nature of our relationship,” said the group’s spokesman Fawzi Barhoum.
It’s still a colonising and occupying power that we must resist.
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You could try longer Dail sessions/less holidays for a start alex.
so here is a guy who has freely admitted that there is E.U law being passed without scrutiny ; that just about makes the E.U. totally illegal in Ireland !
I think the penny is finally dropping with the Irish People that our Govt and the EU don’t have our best interests at heart.
why do you say that Toby? because unfortunately ff and fg are still
topping polls.
Because Richard, the polls are indicating that the recommendation made by the Govt is being questioned by the Irish People.
Huh? Toby the most recent one I saw, fg were actually gaining points, There seems to have been a rise in ‘don’t knows’, but honestly that only ultimately contributes to fg’s gain.
hence my belief a need for DDI
Almost 40% said they wouldn’t vote for any party or independent. Those percentages are taken from the remaining 60%, that’s good news.
There’s a change coming.
These political tugs must for once recognise that Ireland is a sovereign nation and never will it be governed by Europe. I can see why they like the idea of outsourcing all government decisions to the EU, as it removes responsibility some what. Now debating is off the table, what next ? your right to speak.
The EU is just a monstrous undemocratic bureaucracy now pumping out legislation by the barrel-load.. all the while incapable of fixing itself. It fails to recognise that it is flawed fundamentally by half-assing federalisation (with the Euro especially).
It’s about time Ireland stopped drinking the “More EU” kool-aid and considered that perhaps the project has gone far enough (even too far) in some respects. That if we leave it to the Eurocrats in Brussels, they will not stop until the EU has all the federal powers of the US and the Fed, something we should not aspire to.
+billion of bit coins for that comment. Hats off to you sir, very well said.
Hear here !
Why not use the Senate all the time?
I’m sure reforms can improve its use. Pity we don’t have a preferendum.
Alex White is such a lemming. He’s too boring to think about. I give up.
Wow we have a guy in Government who doesn’t understand the difference between the words “everything and “anything”…
You could all get off ya holes and bring this country out of the hell hole FF got it into.
Neither the Dail nor the Seanad actually debate anything. The government of the day uses the guillotine to push through their legislation – and we call this a democracy.
You would warn. A Child not to sign anything without understanding its relevance
Send the directives back and tell them when you get a chance you will look at them ,that’s what you tell us when when you are engaging
The Fine Gael/Labour Programme for Government, 2011-2016 (from which the following extract is taken) may help – if anyone bothers to read it:
“Transposing EU Legislative Measures
The situation can no longer be tolerated where Irish Ministers enact EU legislation by statutory instrument. The checks and balances of parliamentary democracy are by-passed. The parliamentary treatment accorded home-produced draft legislation must be extended to draft legislation initiated within the EU institutions.
The Regulatory Impact Assessments prepared for Ministers on all EU Directives and significant Regulations will be forwarded automatically to the relevant sectoral Oireachtas Committees. These Committees should advise the Minister and the Joint Committee on European Affairs as to whether the transposition should take place by Statutory Instrument or by primary legislation. Where primary legislation is recommended the full Oireachtas plenary process should be followed.”
So they have proposed a policy that defies their job description ; That means no citizen is required to pay tax ! Tax Strike !
Maybe if the Dail didn’t spend so long on holidays more could be debated Mr. White…..
some awful EU Directives have been accepted the EU Treaty Rights for starters…..mostly in immigration, people in sham marriages with EU nationals were required to live in the EU nationals country (ie latvia, poland etc) before they could live in Ireland thus very few sham marriages existed however the EU removed that as a directive ands its open season
I disagree.
How democratic! Underlines the need – despite its major shortcomings – to retain and reform the Seanad to tackle this issue. A reformed Seanad should not have the whip system. That way it can revise and scrutinise legislation without political heavies leaning on them.
have your say