Netanyahu faces legal woes as his foes strike deal to form govt

AFP, Jerusalem
Israelis eyed the end of an era yesterday after a motley alliance of parties from across the political spectrum agreed to form a government to unseat veteran Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Opposition leader Yair Lapid announced the deal just minutes before a midnight Wednesday deadline, prompting celebrations into the early hours by the premier's opponents and a defiant show of support by his fans.

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On paper, the prospective coalition commands a slender majority in parliament but a confidence vote is not expected for several days, giving Netanyahu time to woo potential defectors among the unlikely bedfellows ranged against him.

With the threat of possible jail time hanging over him in his ongoing trial on corruption charges, the 71-year-old is unlikely to allow his record 12 straight years to end without a messy fight, analysts warned.

The new coalition would see the religious nationalist Naftali Bennett serve as prime minister for two years before Lapid, a secular centrist and a former TV presenter who heads the centrist Yesh Atid party, would take the helm.

Should last-minute defections scupper the "change" alliance, Israel would likely have to hold yet another election, the fifth in just over two years.

The announcement capped four frenzied weeks of negotiations since President Reuven Rivlin tasked Lapid with trying to form a government after Netanyahu failed.

On the right, the new coalition includes the hawkish New Hope party of Netanyahu's former ally Gideon Saar, and secular nationalist Avigdor Lieberman's Yisrael Beitenu party.

Also part of the alliance are the Labor party, the dovish Meretz party, and the centrist Blue and White party of Defence Minister Benny Gantz.

For the first time in Israeli's history, the embryonic coalition also includes an Arab Israeli party, the Islamic conservative party Raam.

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