Netanyahu rivals unveil deal for coalition govt

JERUSALEM－Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid announced on Wednesday that a deal has been reached to form a coalition government that would end the 12-year rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The statement by centrist Lapid and his main partner, nationalist hard-liner Naftali Bennett, came about 30 minutes before a midnight deadline to put together a new governing coalition following elections on March 23.

An official statement issued by President Reuven Rivlin's office said that Lapid informed the president that "he has been able to form a government".

Under the coalition deal, Lapid, leader of centrist party Yesh Atid, and Bennett, who heads the nationalist Yamina party, will rotate the premiership, with Bennett serving first as prime minister, according to the statement.

The new coalition also includes Ra'am, an Islamic party headed by Mansour Abbas, marking the first time an Arab party is part of a coalition.

The coalition would comprise a diverse coalition of additional small parties, including the centrist Blue and White party, headed by Defense Minister Benny Gantz that partnered with Netanyahu to form the outgoing government, the right-wing parties of Israel Our Home and New Hope, the center-left Labour party and the leftist Meretz party.

The Haaretz newspaper reported that Israel's parliament, the Knesset, is expected to be convened for a confidence vote for the new government by next Wednesday.

Lapid wrote on Twitter that the new government "will work in the service of all Israeli citizens, those who voted for it and those who did not. It will respect its opponents and do everything in its power to unite and connect all parts of Israeli society".

The right-wing nationalist Bennett, 49, would serve first as prime minister in a rotation agreement, with Lapid to take over after two years.

Political deadlock

The move comes amid a series of inconclusive elections and a lingering political deadlock.

The deal paves the way to the end of the rule of Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister.

For months, Bennett vexed Israel's political establishment by refusing to say whether he and his Yamina party would get behind Netanyahu. Now the tech millionaire and former Netanyahu protege is poised to become his successor.

His rise to Israel's top job marks a historic turn for the 73-year-old nation after four inconclusive elections and a brutal 11-day war with Hamas' militant rulers in the Gaza Strip.

Xinhua - Agencies