Crunch Vote for Israel's 'Change' Coalition Draws Nearer

Supporters of veteran Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrate in Tel Aviv against the "change" coalition that is to be put to a confidence vote in parliament next week or the week after. (AFP)
Supporters of veteran Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrate in Tel Aviv against the "change" coalition that is to be put to a confidence vote in parliament next week or the week after. (AFP)
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Crunch Vote for Israel's 'Change' Coalition Draws Nearer

Supporters of veteran Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrate in Tel Aviv against the "change" coalition that is to be put to a confidence vote in parliament next week or the week after. (AFP)
Supporters of veteran Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrate in Tel Aviv against the "change" coalition that is to be put to a confidence vote in parliament next week or the week after. (AFP)

The speaker of the Israeli parliament will formally notify lawmakers Monday of the opposition's announcement of a coalition to unseat veteran premier Benjamin Netanyahu, his office said.

The notification will set in motion preparations for a confidence vote in the new government, which will now likely be held on Wednesday or the following Monday, Israeli media said.

The late Friday announcement by speaker Yariv Levin, a close Netanyahu ally, allays fears their right-wing Likud party could find procedural ways to block the formation of the motley coalition that would end Netanyahu's 12 consecutive years in office.

On paper, the coalition announced by opposition leader Yair Lapid just minutes before a midnight Wednesday deadline, should command a slender majority in the confidence vote.

But all eyes will be on potential defections from the disparate alliance which is united only by shared hostility to Netanyahu.

Under the agreement, Naftali Bennett of the religious nationalist Yamina party would be premier for two years, to be replaced by the centrist Lapid in 2023.

With possible jail time hanging over him in his ongoing trial on corruption charges, Netanyahu is not expected to give up without a fight.

His supporters have been working hard to win defections from lawmakers from Bennett's own Yamina party uncomfortable with their leader's alliance with Jewish leftists and Arab conservatives.

Demonstrations orchestrated by Netanyahu supporters have been held outside the home of Yamina lawmaker Nir Orbach, who has warned Bennett he may not support him in the confidence vote.

Were Orbach to vote against the deal without resigning from the party, the coalition would not have a majority.

A Friday post on Netanyahu's Facebook page said that "those who were elected on right-wing votes have to do the right thing -- to form a good, strong right-wing government".

Should last-minute defections scupper the alliance, Israel would likely have to return to the polls for its fifth election in just over two years.



Finland Hails Plan for Allies to Join NATO Land Forces on its Soil

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on the eve of a NATO defense ministers' meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 12, 2025. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/ File Photo
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on the eve of a NATO defense ministers' meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 12, 2025. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/ File Photo
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Finland Hails Plan for Allies to Join NATO Land Forces on its Soil

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on the eve of a NATO defense ministers' meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 12, 2025. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/ File Photo
Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen attends a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on the eve of a NATO defense ministers' meeting at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium February 12, 2025. REUTERS/Johanna Geron/ File Photo

Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen hailed plans on Wednesday for six NATO member states including Britain and France to participate in land forces that are to be established in northern Finland. Finland, which has a longer border with Russia than any other NATO state, has strengthened the frontier in the two years since it joined the military alliance following a policy U-turn after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Reuters reported.

"I am very pleased that yesterday, in connection with the ministerial meeting, we were able to announce that Sweden, the United Kingdom, France, Norway, Denmark and Iceland are set to join FLF Finland," Hakkanen said on X, referring to what NATO calls Forward Land Forces.

NATO leaders were meeting on Wednesday in The Hague.

Helsinki and Stockholm agreed last year that Sweden would lead the establishment of a NATO land force in Finland and invited other allies to participate.

The number of troops is yet to be defined. But the Finnish defense ministry has said that there is a plan for up to a brigade - about 5,000 soldiers - and a significant number of equipment to be brought in if the security situation worsens.

The first NATO land forces will start to arrive this year and be placed above the Arctic circle in Rovaniemi and Sodankyla, it said.

In addition to the foreign reinforcement force in the north, Finland will host a new NATO land force headquarters for officers in Mikkeli, southern Finland, an about two-hour drive from the Finnish-Russian border.