Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was ousted after a dramatic series of events after his political rivals stepped up amidst growing tensions as an aftermath of recent Israel-Palestine conflict.
After weeks of speculation, negotiations and turmoil, Benjamin Netanyahu was finally replaced by hardliner Naftali Bennett of Yamina party.
Son to American immigrants, Naftali Bennett was born in Haifa, Israel. He is a former commander. He was also a former leader of Yesha which was a main settler movement in West Bank. Bennett entered the national politics of Israel in 2013 where he revamped a pro-settler party and served as minister of defence, education and economy in multiple tenures of Netanyahu government.
Netanyahu-Bennett equation
He had named his eldest son in 1976 after Netanyahu’s brother died in Israeli raid to free hijacked passengers at Entebbe airport of Uganada. His relationship with the longest serving Prime Minister of Israel is rocky since the beginning. He worked as a senior aide to Netanyahu in 2006-2008, when he was an opposition leader. However both of them departed on bad terms.
Naftali’s ideology and political standing
He is strongly against the creation of state of Palestine just like his predecessors. He has called the move as equal to suicide for Israel. He is a staunch supporter of Jewish settlements in West Bank. While this is the case, he has never supported the claims of Israel over Gaza.
He made annexation of parts of the territory captured by Israel in 1967 war. This move made this a major feature for his political career. However the annexation plan was discarded when Israel made its ties with UAE formal.
Naftali’s accession to power could be a blow to the hopes of global community and people of Israel and Palestine for a negotiated peace. He has never shown any leaning towards the peaceful negotiations to end the conflict.
He is a hardliner when it comes in matter of dealing with militants of Palestine. He even endorsed death penalty for them. In May 2021, he accused Hamas of murdering the civil lives of Gaza.
He favours liberalisation of economy. He has shown his interest in cutting government red tape and taxes.
Also he is liberal when it comes to religious issues. He is liberal in issues of gay rights and the relationship between religion and state in a country where Orthodox rabbis wield strong influence.
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