End of the Netanyahu’s Era is near

Lapid is reportedly set to announce to President Rivlin, it has succeeded in forming a cabinet that would end Netanyahu’s 15-year presidency.

The upcoming hours in Israel are very sensitive. Unless something unusual happens, Benjamin Netanyahu’s opponents are very close to forming a government to oust him. This is likely to be the result of Naftali Bennett’s re-emergence on the Netanyahu opposition front, the Coalition for Change.

Israel was gripped by the political drama on Sunday over the possible imminent end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s record run as the country’s leader.

After four inconclusive parliamentary elections in two years, a 28-day mandate for opposition leader Yair Lapid to form a new government runs out on Wednesday, and media reports said he was close to putting together a coalition that would end Netanyahu’s 12-year stretch as prime minister.

Lapid’s chances of success rest largely with far-right politician Naftali Bennett, a kingmaker whose Yamina party has six key seats in parliament.

Bennett, 49, was widely expected to announce, possibly as early as Sunday, whether he would team up with Lapid, who leads the Yesh Atid party.

But first, Bennett would have to rally his own party’s legislators behind joining what Netanyahu’s opponents have described as a government of “change” comprising factions from the left, center, and right.

Still short of a parliamentary majority after a March 23 election that ended in an impasse, such a diverse grouping could be fragile and would require outside backing by Arab members of parliament (Palestinian citizens of Israel) whose political views differ sharply from Yamina’s.

Bennett has maintained public silence in recent days, with Likud party chief Netanyahu fuelling speculation his own tenure was about to end in a tweet and video on Friday. “Real Alert,” he wrote, warning a dangerous “left-wing” administration was in the cards.