Podcasts
04/04/2020
Israel avoids civil war, Netanyahu survives
Back in February, there was talk of civil war in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud-led right-wing bloc had come out on top in national elections, but had for the third time in a year failed to secure a majority in the Knesset. Leftist bloc Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, despite coming second to Netanyahu, had the support his party needed to be the Israeli president's first choice to put together a functioning government.
Ultra-nationalist, secularist Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman was set to play kingmaker. Such was his enmity towards Netanyahu that he offered his support to the left. Meanwhile, the pro-Palestinian Joint List, a coalition of mainly Arab parties that came third in the election, recommended Gantz to form a government. For them, Gantz was the lesser of two evils, as Netanyahu was promising to annex swathes of territory in the West Bank. However, Gantz was reluctant to form a government with their support as it may have led to the collapse of his leftist bloc, considering many in the bloc would have opposed working with either Lieberman or the Joint List.
What Gantz chose to do, however, led to that result anyway. No one saw it coming as he had the upper-hand, but instead of taking over as prime minister, he opted to become the Knesset Speaker, replacing Netanyahu’s Likud ally who resigned after the High Court denounced him for blocking attempts to elect his replacement. In replacing him, Gantz in effect joined forces with Netanyahu in a bid to form a unity government to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. But this did not settle well with his allies from the Blue and White bloc, which ultimately collapsed. Now, leftist leader Yair Lapid has emerged as Israel's new opposition leader, while Gantz is still in discussion with Netanyahu on how to share power during this time of crisis.
Radio EastMed’s Editor-in-Chief Ertan Karpazli has more.
To listen to the full podcast rounding up all the major events of March 2020 in the Eastern Mediterranean, please visit the following link: https://youtu.be/fVEheYFqFY4
Ultra-nationalist, secularist Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman was set to play kingmaker. Such was his enmity towards Netanyahu that he offered his support to the left. Meanwhile, the pro-Palestinian Joint List, a coalition of mainly Arab parties that came third in the election, recommended Gantz to form a government. For them, Gantz was the lesser of two evils, as Netanyahu was promising to annex swathes of territory in the West Bank. However, Gantz was reluctant to form a government with their support as it may have led to the collapse of his leftist bloc, considering many in the bloc would have opposed working with either Lieberman or the Joint List.
What Gantz chose to do, however, led to that result anyway. No one saw it coming as he had the upper-hand, but instead of taking over as prime minister, he opted to become the Knesset Speaker, replacing Netanyahu’s Likud ally who resigned after the High Court denounced him for blocking attempts to elect his replacement. In replacing him, Gantz in effect joined forces with Netanyahu in a bid to form a unity government to tackle the coronavirus outbreak. But this did not settle well with his allies from the Blue and White bloc, which ultimately collapsed. Now, leftist leader Yair Lapid has emerged as Israel's new opposition leader, while Gantz is still in discussion with Netanyahu on how to share power during this time of crisis.
Radio EastMed’s Editor-in-Chief Ertan Karpazli has more.
To listen to the full podcast rounding up all the major events of March 2020 in the Eastern Mediterranean, please visit the following link: https://youtu.be/fVEheYFqFY4
