by Mark Moore at The New York Post
Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest serving Israeli leader, was ousted as prime minister on Sunday after the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, voted to form a new government made up of a coalition of opposition groups pledging to heal caustic divisions caused by Netanyahu’s 12-year rule.
Netanyahu had failed to form a government after a March 23 election — the fourth in two years — and could not block the power-sharing agreement between the groups, headed by his former defense minister Naftali Bennett and opposition leader Yair Lapid.
Bennett and Lapid will each serve two years as prime minister on a rotating basis.
Bennett was sworn in immediately after the 60-59 vote. Lapid will replace him in 2023.
Netanyahu, 71, who has been prime minister since 2009 and previously held the post from 1996 to 1999, vowed “we’ll be back.”
“If it is destined for us to be in the opposition, we will do it with our backs straight until we topple this dangerous government and return to lead the country in our way,” he said.
In a statement, President Biden praised Bennett and Lapid and said the US would continue its long relationship with Israel…
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