Speaking at the Knesset, Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Bennett-Lapid cabinet would not last more than a few months and that he (Netanyahu) would soon be re-elected, prime minister.
The fact is that Netanyahu’s words were nothing but to please himself because he could not bring together the various parties to overthrow the new cabinet. The Bennett-Lapid cabinet is set to remain in power for at least two years, with full US support.
The US government has played an important role in the formation of the Israeli cabinet and will continue to play its role in maintaining this new cabinet.
Naftali Bennett sees himself as Netanyahu’s successor and wants to remain prime minister for 15 years like Netanyahu (12 of Netanyahu’s 15 consecutive years in office). Naftali wants to present itself as an unrivaled right-wing leader in the next two years, to continue to build settlements with more vigor, and to implement right-wing plans away from any noise.
Another person is Yair Lapid, who has shown in recent weeks that he has resigned as prime minister to pursue domestic political interests and prevent a costly fifth round of Knesset elections. Today, Lapid is the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, and he is trying to make his name known as the possible Prime Minister of the coming years. In his new position, Lapid will try to rebuild Israel’s relations with the United States on issues such as the agreement with the Palestinians, and it is unlikely that he will meet with Palestinian Authority officials, and that is what the United States wants. Lapid knows that the United States is Israel’s main supporter and can use the tools at its disposal to install or overthrow a cabinet.
The third man is General Benny Gantz. Gantz is the one the United States used to help advance its goals and plans for Iran because Netanyahu had threatened to attack Iran.
As Secretary of War, Gantz will work to follow in the footsteps of Isaac Robin and unite the right and the left. Gantz will try to portray himself as the most powerful person in Israel’s security and show that he is experienced in countering the Palestinian resistance and can restore calm to Israeli settlements near the Gaza Strip. Gantz also wants to sit on the Israeli prime minister’s post and will try to rebuild the power of the “Kahul Lafan” (white-blue) coalition so that he can sit in the next election.
