JERUSALEM — Naftali Bennett, who leads a small right-wing party, and Yair Lapid, the centrist leader of the Israeli opposition, have joined forces to try to form a diverse coalition that would unseat Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister. Spanning Israel’s fractious political spectrum from left to right, and relying on the support of a small Arab, Islamist party, the proposed coalition, dubbed the “change government” by supporters, could mark a profound shift for Israel. After grinding deadlock that led to four inconclusive elections in two years, and an even longer period of polarizing politics and government paralysis, the architects of the coalition have pledged to get Israel back on track. Whether they can form a government, unseating Mr. Netanyahu, a wily political survivor who has fundamentally reshaped Israeli politics, by the deadline of Wednesday at midnight remains unclear. So does the question of how much change the “change government” could bring when some of the parties agree on little else besides enmity for Mr. Netanyahu.

Source: New York Times May 31, 2021 17:37 UTC