Naftali Bennett Becomes Israel’s New Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu’s term as prime minister ended Sunday after Israel’s Parliament approved a new government formed by Yamina leader Naftali Bennett and Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid.

Israel’s Parliament, the Knesset, approved the new government in a 60 to 59 vote with one abstention, The Jerusalem Post reports.

Bennett’s supporters cheered after the announcement, and then he exchanged a brief handshake with Netanyahu before taking the oath of office as the new prime minister.

“I am proud that I can sit in a government with people with very different views,” Bennett said.

CBN News senior editor and Middle East analyst John Waage, commenting on the vote, said Netanyahu has pledged to bring down the new Israeli government quickly, and he may have the opportunity to do that.

“The coalition parties have almost nothing in common except their disdain for Netanyahu and the desire to remove him from office. That isn’t a winning formula for long-term success,” Waage said.

He also believes Israel’s new government will now almost certainly be tested in the international arena.

“Its most notable enemy, Iran, has plenty of proxies to threaten the new government,” he said. “Netanyahu has pledged to bring down the new Israeli government quickly, and he may have opportunity to do that.” {eoa}

For more on how this new government rule will affect Israel, read the rest of the story from our content partners at CBN News here.

Reprinted with permission from CBN.com. Copyright The Christian Broadcasting Network, Inc., All rights reserved.