Knesset to vote on approving new government by June 14

With a week left until deadline, Netanyahu and his allies still have time to try and twist arms of Lapid-Bennett coalition after Yamina head calls on premier 'to let go' and drop efforts to encourage defections
Reuters|
A vote in Knesset on approving a new government poised to unseat Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be held within a week, parliament's speaker said on Monday, without setting a specific date.
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  • Yamina leader Naftali Bennett called on Netanyahu on Sunday to "let go" and drop any efforts to encourage defections from the new coalition that could scupper its inauguration.
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    ראשי מפלגות של הממשלה החדשה
    ראשי מפלגות של הממשלה החדשה
    Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and Yamina head Naftali Bennett
    (Photo: Raanan Cohen)
    Netanyahu's supporters have launched a blistering campaign against his opponents, including death threats and raucous protests outside their homes that has forced the Knesset to beef up their security details.
    Bennett urged Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin, a Netanyahu loyalist, not to delay and to hold the confidence vote this Wednesday, so that the government of left-wing, rightist, centrist and Arab parties could be sworn in.
    2 View gallery
    יריב לוין
    יריב לוין
    Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin
    (Photo: EPA)
    In a formal announcement to the Knesset plenum, Levin noted that Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid had informed him and President Reuven Rivlin that a coalition had been agreed, and said that under a time frame set by law, a vote to approve it would be held by June 14.
    "An announcement regarding a date for the session to establish (Israel's) 36th government will be conveyed down the line to members of parliament," Levin said, leaving open the possibility that Netanyahu could have up to a week to try to twist arms.
    If the Lapid-Bennett government fails to win a majority in parliament, Israel will likely head to its fifth election in less than two years, after an inconclusive ballot on March 23 capped by their coalition agreement.
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