London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Jun 21, 2026

0:00
0:00

Naftali Bennett sworn in as Israel's New Prime Minister, ending 12 years of Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership

In a historic move, Israel compromised its democracy by forming a coalition made up of the parties that lost the election, appointing Mr. Bennett, who got only 3% of the votes, as the Prime Minister of a coalition with a vision of unity between Jews, Arabs, the Right- and Left-wings, the hope is that this compromise will work better for all the region, and that it will last long enough to make the change that this miserable region has been waiting for for over 70 years...
For the first time in more than a decade, Israel has welcomed a new Prime Minister. Naftali Bennett was sworn in on Sunday after a new coalition unseated longtime Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu.

The newly appointed prime minister, who got only 3% of the votes, was appointed by the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in a coalition that managed to scrape in by a 60-59 vote, with one minister abstaining, sending the party which actually won the election to become the opposition.

Shortly after the votes were tallied, the now former-Prime Minister Netanyahu approached his opponent and the two shook hands. Not long after that, Netanyahu took to Twitter, instructing his supporters to hold their heads high and keep the faith; vowing to return.

"I ask you: do not let your spirit fall," he said. "We'll be back - and faster than you think."

Mr. Naftali Bennett , the new Prime Minister of Israel is a lightly-religious man, young, rich, with experience in the Israeli army special forces, and the founder of a successful technology company.

Mr. Bennett has all the qualities required to lead Israel to peace with its enemies, while still preserving its strategic relations with the United States (whose efforts to generate peace between Israel and its enemies are contrary to its interests in the region).

But Bennett's new government is very fragile, because it hangs on a majority of only one vote. Bennett's rule is also a temporary one - for only two years - after which Mr. Yair Lapid will be appointed Prime Minister. The two-year-by-two-year sharing deal was agreed by those who lost the election, so they could unite and together engineer a coalition that would have a marginal majority over Netanyahu's party - the one that actually won the election.

Whereas Israel's next Prime Minister, Mr. Yair Lapid, supports and is strongly committed to President Biden's administration, Mr. Bennett is considered a much more independent Prime Minister than Lapid and Netanyahu combined.

But the chances of this government bringing dramatic changes to Israel's foreign policy are almost zero, because the majority it secured as a coalition is not built on a common ideology, but a majority built on gathering together those with a disparate set of self-serving interests. The coalition was formed by the losers purely for the purpose of seizing power from those who won the election. It's a coalition that has very little as a common ideological denominator, if anything at all.

At the same time, this government has a great opportunity to strengthen the State of Israel and protect it from the most dangerous existential threat - actually the only threat - that it currently faces: that is, Israel's divided society; the deep rifts within it; and the mutual hatred of each faction against all the others.

This unlikely union is a surreal cooperation with multiple built-in contradictions. A government that is both right- and left-wing; a coalition that is both Jewish and Arab; with some right-wing Jews who are pushing to expand Israel into Palestinian territories; with some Israeli-Arabs who believe that Israel has no right to exist in the Palestinian territories where it is located today; a coalition that is both religious and anti-religious; a governmental with a military orientation on one hand and a civilian orientation on the other; with ultra-liberal members sitting alongside very conservative members. And, as a final contradiction, a government comprised on the one hand of lawmakers supporting the non-elected bureaucrats who have absolute power to control Israel above its so called democracy, and on the other hand featuring a few dominant players who want Israel to become a real democracy, in which for a change the people and their values are in control of the bureaucracy.

Benjamin Netanyahu's 12 years' rule as Prime Minister has ended. Under his leadership, Israel has become a super power - militarily, technologically and economically.

Netanyahu led Israel to the top of the world, despite being persecuted every day, but was eventually dethroned by the officials who control the bureaucracy who successfully engineered his removal with a controversial and questionable so-called "corruption" case.

Ironically, Netanyahu ended up as the victim of his continued failure to confront this relentless bureaucracy. In the end they managed to defeat him, thanks to the absolute power they hold over and against the democracy that Israel aspires to be.

Netanyahu's next successor is much less experienced than him, and certainly no less talented. But he also definitely has much more courage and determination to change and fix the internal problems that are crumbling the entire Israeli society from within.

As long as Israel has external enemies, what unites Israel will always be stronger than what endangers its existence. But on the day when it no longer has external enemies, Israel's existence as a Jewish state will be, for the third time in history, in real existential danger. And it will be for exactly the same reasons: endless internal conflicts, self-serving power games, and mutual hatred between factions that always lead down the path to self-destruction. The main task of any Israeli government is to address these internal issues and to fix them.

Therefore, despite all the criticisms that people have levelled against this government, we believe that its chances of doing good for Israel and its neighbors are far greater than it failing by its weaknesses!
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
London Hotel Wins World’s Best Afternoon Tea Award at International Hospitality Guide La Liste
Court of Appeal Rules in Favour of Competition and Markets Authority in Phenytoin Drug Case
Chichester Waste Site Suspended After Environment Agency Finds Serious Fire and Pollution Risks
UK Appoints Chris Elmore as Special Envoy on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict
Environment Agency Fines Yorkshire Firms Nearly £470,000 for Environmental Permit Breaches
British Chambers of Commerce Says Post-Brexit Trade Deals Have Limited Economic Impact
Resident Doctors to Vote on Government Pay Offer in Ongoing NHS Dispute
UK Public Borrowing Reaches £46.3 Billion in Early Fiscal Year, Driven by Debt Interest Costs
UK Government Unveils £100 Million Package to Strengthen Fire and Rescue Response Capacity
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75 Percent Despite Easing Inflation
Met Office Extends Amber Heat Warning as Temperatures Forecast to Reach 38C Across Southern England
Prime Minister Keir Starmer Expected to Resign Amid Mounting Labour Party Pressure
UK Government Tightens Procurement Rules to Prioritise National Security and Supply Chain Resilience
National Drought Group Reviews Water Supply Risks After Dry Spring and Ongoing Heatwave
Andy Burnham Faces Leadership Speculation After Weak Local Election Results for Labour
Charity Commission Appoints Interim Managers to Barnabas Aid Amid Financial Investigation
Government Awards £27 Million Leonardo UK Contract to Maintain Military Aircraft Fleet
Environment Agency Suspends Chichester Waste Site Permit Over Fire and Pollution Risks
Border Force Seizes Record Cannabis Shipment in Major UK Criminal Network Disruption
Lloyds Banking Group to Hire 300 Artificial Intelligence Specialists in Digital Expansion Push
UK Government Introduces Alcohol Monitoring Tags for 7,000 Offenders Ahead of Summer Sporting Season
Resident Doctors in England Prepare Vote on Government Pay and Working Conditions Offer
Police Scotland Investigates Suspected Anti-Muslim Attacks in Edinburgh Following Arrest
Met Office Issues Rare Amber Extreme Heat Warning Across Southern and Eastern England
UK Government Unveils Digital Homebuying Reforms to Cut Costs and Speed Up Property Transactions
Train Driver Dies and 89 Injured in Rail Collision Near Bedford as Safety Investigation Begins
Long-Term Economic and Political Effects of Brexit Continue to Shape UK Policymaking
Digital Disinformation Emerges as a Growing National Security Challenge in the United Kingdom
Britain's Dependence on Global Energy Routes Drives Push for More Resilient Supply Chains
Rising Energy Costs Continue to Threaten Britain's Cost-of-Living Recovery
Concerns Grow Over Far-Right Organizing and AI-Driven Online Radicalization in Britain
UK-Led Global Partnerships Conference Calls for Reform of International Development Finance
Middle East Tensions Continue to Weigh on UK Business Confidence
Reports of Middle East Peace Deal Ease Pressure on UK Energy Prices
UK Warns Middle East Conflict Could Worsen Global Food Insecurity
UK Economy Loses Momentum After Strong Start to 2026
Bank of England Holds Interest Rates at 3.75% Despite Easing Inflation
Brexit's Legacy Remains Deeply Divisive Ten Years After the UK Voted to Leave the European Union
International Anti-War Conference Opens in London as Debate Over European Rearmament Intensifies
UK Health Authorities Introduce Drug Price Concessions Amid Record NHS Medicine Shortages
Sir David Attenborough Supports Sherwood Forest Conservation Efforts After Loss of Major Oak
Aardman Animations Marks 50 Years With Major Exhibition in Bristol
Drax Cleared After Investigation Into Wood Pellet Sourcing Practices
Jaguar Land Rover Shifts Toward Hybrid Vehicle Production for US Export Strategy
UK Police Arrest Liberal Democrat MP Cameron Thomas on Suspicion of Assault
Health Concerns Grow Over Elevated Kidney Cancer Rates Near Lancashire PFAS Factory
Royal Navy F-35 Jets Conduct First NATO Air Warfare Exercise from Finnish Airspace
UK NHS Issues Price Concessions for Medicines Amid Severe Drug Shortages
Heathrow Third Runway Project Faces Sharp Downward Revision in Expected Economic Benefits
Amber Heat Warning Issued Across Parts of England and Wales as Temperatures Rise
×