A hardline religious-nationalist, multi-millionaire former tech entrepreneur and former defence minister, 49-year-old Naftali Bennett is Israel’s new prime minister after parliament accepted a brand new authorities on Sunday.
The 120-member Knesset voted in favour of a coalition put collectively by centrist Yair Lapid, with a razor-thin majority however sufficient to finish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12 unbroken years on the helm.
One-time particular forces commando, Bennett leads the right-wing Yamina get together, which has known as for Israel to annex components of the occupied West Bank. He will likely be Israel’s first premier to overtly lead a spiritual life-style, and the primary to sport the kippa ( a small skullcap worn by non secular Jewish males.)
An Ultra Nationalist & hard-right chief
Son of American-born mother and father who speaks excellent English, Bennett is a spiritual Jew who made thousands and thousands within the largely secular hi-tech sector. Bennett started life along with his mother and father in Haifa, then stored transferring along with his household between North America and Israel, navy service, legislation faculty and the non-public sector. Throughout, he’s curated a persona that’s without delay trendy, non secular and nationalist. After serving within the elite Sayeret Matkal commando unit, Bennett went to legislation faculty at Hebrew University. In 1999, he co-founded Cyota, an anti-fraud software program firm that was offered in 2005 to U.S.-based RSA Security for $145 million.
Bennett has mentioned the bitter expertise of Israel’s 2006 struggle towards the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah drove him to politics. His views are out and open, in a video posted on his official YouTube web page presents a colourfully animated account of the far-right politician’s plan, with a lighthearted tone that belies its deeply severe message.
“There are some things that we all know will never happen,” says a narrator in a carefree voice. “The Sopranos will never return for another season … And a peace agreement with the Palestinians will not happen.”
Rivalry with Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
After 12 years, nobody anticipated the 71-year-old Netanyahu, dubbed the “King of Israel” by his supporters, to quietly retire to his private home in the seaside town of Caesarea. Bennett, already branded a traitor by much of the right-wing base he shares with Netanyahu, heads a tiny party. Bennett has served as head of the West Bank settler’s council, Yesha, before entering the Knesset in 2013. He later served as cabinet minister of diaspora affairs, education and defense in various Netanyahu-led governments.
Long positioned himself to the right of Netanyahu, Bennett campaigned as a right-wing stalwart ahead of the March elections and signed a pledge on national TV saying he would never allow Yair Lapid, a centrist and Netanyahu’s main rival, to become prime minister. But when it became clear Netanyahu was unable to form a ruling coalition, that’s exactly what Bennett did, agreeing to serve as prime minister for two years before handing power to Lapid, the architect of the new coalition.
Bennett fiercely criticized Netanyahu after the prime minister agreed to slow settlement construction under pressure from President Barack Obama, who tried and failed to revive the peace process early in his first term. “He’s a right-wing leader, a security hard-liner, but at the same time very pragmatic,” Yohanan Plesner, head of the Israel Democracy Institute told Associated Press. Plesner has known Bennett for decades and served with him in the military.
He expects Bennett to engage with other factions to find a “common denominator” as he seeks support and legitimacy as a national leader.
Israel’s New PM and diplomatic Ties with India
After recent attacks between Israel and Gaza, Ambassador T.S. Tirumurti, India’s permanent representative at the UN responded and urged, “both sides to show extreme restraint, desist from actions that exacerbate tensions, and refrain from attempts to unilaterally change the existing status-quo, including in East Jerusalem and its neighbourhood.”
India and Israel have enjoyed strong bilateral ties since 1950 with Indian PM Jawaharlal Nehru reiterating it’s position on the recognition of Israel as a state. Today, India is the largest buyer of Israeli military equipment and Israel is the second-largest defence supplier to India after Russia. India is Israel’s third-largest Asian trade partner, and tenth-largest trade partner overall.
India’s relationship curve with Israel has at all times been energetic and it additional grew throughout Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s administration, with India abstaining from voting against Israel in the United Nations in several resolutions. Apart from the above, India and Israel have been engaging in expanding diplomatic ties through bilateral talks and coalition initiatives towards agricultural cooperation, water accessibility and oil and natural gas cooperation.
Bennett and Palestine
Bennett has strongly opposed to Palestinian independence and strongly supports Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians and much of the international community see as a major obstacle to peace. In a series of incediary comments against Palestine, in 2013, Bennett said Palestinian “terrorists should be killed, not released”. He also argued that the West Bank was not under occupation because “there was never a Palestinian state here”, and that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could not be resolved but must be endured, like “shrapnel in the buttocks”.
However, any push against Palestinians would risk Bennett’s place given the fragility of the coalition supported by an Arab get together. In such a scenario, the annexation of the occupied West Bank and the invasion of Gaza are most likely off the desk, however so are any main concessions to the Palestinians.
Bennett’s rise to Prime Minister doubtless means a setback for Palestinians who hope for negotiations for peace and, in some unspecified time in the future, an unbiased state.
What will chnage underneath Israel’s New Government?
The new authorities led by Bennett, has vowed to chart a recent course aimed toward therapeutic the nation’s divisions and restoring a way of normalcy. With the delicate coalition of eight events together with a small Arab get together, even when one get together bolts, the federal government can be at severe threat of collapse.
Bennett helps settlement enlargement and is against a Palestinian state, nevertheless, he dangers shedding his job if he alienates his dovish coalition companions. That will doubtless imply a continuation of Netanyahu’s strategy of managing the decades-old battle with out making an attempt to finish it. Annexing the occupied West Bank and invading Gaza are most likely off the desk, however so are any main concessions to the Palestinians.
The greatest change is doubtless be felt throughout the nation as the federal government struggles to heal the divisions in Israeli society that opened up throughout the Netanyahu years. This consists of differnces between Jews and Arabs and between ultra-Orthodox and secular Israelis.
“The authorities will work for all of the Israeli public — non secular, secular, ultra-Orthodox, Arab — with out exception, as one,” Bennett said Friday. “We will work together, out of the partnership and national responsibility, and I believe we will succeed.” The United Arab List, a small get together with Islamist roots led by Mansour Abbas, is the primary Arab get together to sit down in a coalition. In return for serving to to oust Netanyahu, he is anticipated to safe giant budgets for housing, infrastructure and legislation enforcement in Arab communities.
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