PNW - Yesh Atid Party head Yair Lapid and Yamina Party head Naftali Bennett announced on Wednesday that they have secured an agreement to form Israel's next government, thereby likely ending the 12-year consecutive term of Benjamin Netanyahu as the country's prime minister.
The new government will be unprecedented in its composition, consisting of seven parties spanning the entire Israeli political spectrum, plus the backing of an Arab party for the first time.
As such, questions remain over the ability to successfully govern such a disparate group of parties at a time when the country faces serious security threats stemming from Iran and its terror proxies, as well as internal social discord between Jews and Arabs.
Nevertheless, most analysts JNS spoke with were hopeful, especially when it comes to improving U.S.-Israel ties.
"It could certainly help the mood, initially," Daniel Pipes, president of the Middle East Forum, told JNS, saying that the United States will be pleased with a government that includes left-wing members. Though he cautions, "I could well see the Biden administration disappointed if the right-wing parties--which are, in fact, more right than Netanyahu--have their way."
Pipes expects the right-wing coalition partners to dominate, noting that in the negotiations on forming the coalition, the three right-wing parties--Yamina, New Hope and Yisrael Beiteinu--"have been in the driver's seat," and Yamina, with only seven seats, has been given the premiership.
Other analysts are even more .....READ MORE
Keeping You Informed of World Events From A Biblical Perspective