Opposition Parties In Israel Reach Coalition Deal For New Government

Each of the past four elections in Israel has ended in deadlock amid efforts to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has been the dominant player in Israeli politics over the past 3 decades.

Netanyahu has been Prime Minister for the last 12 years, and also held the post for three years in the late 1990s.

In a system where a party leader needs to form coalitions to build a parliamentary majority, Netanyahu had been given until the end of May 4 to form a government, but was unable to secure the majority with his usual allies.

Centrist party leader Yair Lapid was then given four weeks to bring together an opposition coalition.

That window was set to expire at Wednesday midnight, but just 35 minutes before the deadline, Lapid officially told the largely ceremonial president that he had assembled an eight-party alliance, avoiding a fifth election in just over two years.

In order to secure the required parliamentary majority, Lapid had to bring together eight parties that have little in common apart from their shared animosity toward Netanyahu.

The breakthrough for Lapid came on Sunday with Naftali Bennett, a hard-right former settler leader, agreeing to join the coalition, and the final draw being the joining of Arab Islamist party Raam.