KNESSET SPEAKER DECLARES A NEW ISRAEL GOV’T HAS BEEN FORMED

Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin formally announced he had been notified by Yair Lapid a new government had been agreed upon, informing lawmakers a confidence vote will be held by next Monday, Michael Hauser Tov reported for the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.

Likud's Levin said the exact date of the new government's swearing-in will be announced later. According to the coalition agreements, Bennett will serve as prime minister until August 27, 2023, at which point Lapid will replace him and Bennett will become interior minister.

During the first half of the term, Lapid will be foreign minister. Even after the members of all the coalition parties met on Sunday, some issues still have yet to be resolved.

Labor chairwoman Merav Michaeli said in a statement she believes the new government “will be sworn in over the coming days,” rejecting criticism from Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party.

“The public is longing for calm, for a government that will work for them,” Michaeli said at the opening of her Knesset faction meeting, Noa Shpigel also reported for Haaretz.

Michaeli also said the Labor Party central committee approved a proposal to ensure gender balance in all positions held by the parties and formally endorsed Labor’s participation in the new government “that will bring Netanyahu’s rule to an end.”

At the beginning of his Yesh Atid faction meeting at the Knesset, Yair Lapid addressed Netanyahu's supporters, telling them that the government he has formed with Naftali Bennett "isn't against you. It'll be yours, too."

He said he knows that the formation of this unity government poses "a major crisis" for them, but "it will work for you, it will respect you, it is also for you. It will also be a government for Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, and Religious Zionism voters."

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