Yair Lapid, leader of Israeli centrist party of Yesh Atid, speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on May 6, 2021. (Xinhua/Gil Cohen Magen)
JERUSALEM, June 2 (Xinhua) -- Israel's opposition leader Yair Lapid on Wednesday said he reached a deal with a small pro-settler party and other parties to form a coalition government that would end the 12-year rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Under the coalition deal, Lapid, leader of the centrist party of Yesh Atid, and Naftali Bennett, leader of the nationalist party of Yamina, will rotate the premiership, with Bennett serving first as prime minister, according to a statement by Lapid's party.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a statement during a televised press conference at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, Dec. 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Yonatan Sindel/JINI)
The move follows the country's national elections on March 23, which were Israel's fourth elections in two years amid a series of inconclusive elections. ■
