Bennet Seeks to Replace Netanyahu, Chair Cabinet with Center, Left Parties

Israeli former Minister of Security, Naftali Bennett (EPA)
Israeli former Minister of Security, Naftali Bennett (EPA)
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Bennet Seeks to Replace Netanyahu, Chair Cabinet with Center, Left Parties

Israeli former Minister of Security, Naftali Bennett (EPA)
Israeli former Minister of Security, Naftali Bennett (EPA)

Israeli former Security Minister Naftali Bennett is planning to replace Benjamin Netanyahu as prime minister after the Knesset elections on March 23, sources close to the Union of Right-Wing Parties revealed.

The sources indicated that Bennett wants to form a government that includes left and center blocs, but the plan depends on the right-wing parties winning the elections.

The right-wing camp includes Likud, religious parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, and the Zionist party al-Kahane, who seek to win more than 61 seats in alliance with Yamina.

If this is accomplished, Bennett will discuss chairing the cabinet with the opposing camp that includes other right-wing parties such as New Hope, Yisrael Beiteinu, Yesh Atid, Kahol Lavan, Labor party, and Meretz.

He will offer a joint premiership with all or some of them, noting that the alternative will be joining a government formed by Netanyahu, while they remain in opposition.

The latest polls showed that Netanyahu is unlikely to win the majority, even if Bennett joins him.

Last week, results showed that Kahol Lavan, Meretz, and the Islamic movement led by MP Mansour Abbas could lose, which will increase his possibilities of winning equal seats.

Netanyahu aims to increase his chances by appeasing Arab voters. He was seen pouring Arabic coffee in the Negev for a group of Tarabin Bedouin sheiks while asking for their votes.

The prime minister aims to do one of two things, either form a right-wing government under his leadership or head to fifth elections, ensuring he remains the head of the transitional government.

Meanwhile, Bennett believes this will be his chance to become prime minister for the first time, although he only won three seats during the last two elections.

He wants to rely on the center and left parties, stressing that their only chance to remove Netanyahu is by giving him the lead, even though the polls gave him 11-12 seats.

Bennet believes that this will ensure that a fifth election won't take place and will rid them of Netanyahu. He is suggesting the formation of an emergency government under his leadership that focuses on the coronavirus and economic crisis and refrains from engaging in heated issues, including the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

He explains that such a government would put an end to Netanyahu's policy and chaotic ruling and restores the state.

“I am confident that we will succeed together despite all difficulties,” he said, adding that Israel witnessed far more complex alliances in the past.

However, Bennett will not promise to reject an alliance with Netanyahu and believes his rivals Gideon Saer and Yair Lapid will not be able to form a government unless they unite with the Joint List, while he is proposing a Jewish Zionist government.

Recent polls showed that Lapid could win 20 seats and Saer 12 or 13, which further complicates the situation as the former refuses to ally with the Arabs and will not join Netanyahu, while the latter accepts an alliance with the Arabs, but cannot persuade Bennett to join.

Bennet’s sole opportunity to become prime minister is to persuade the religious parties to abandon their alliance with Netanyahu, especially when it becomes clear that he cannot form a government. But this seems impossible because supporters of religious parties prefer Netanyahu over any other political leader.



Russia Launches Nearly 150 Drones against Ukraine as Trump Doubts Putin's Desire for Peace

A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Launches Nearly 150 Drones against Ukraine as Trump Doubts Putin's Desire for Peace

A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)
A view shows ruins of buildings in the abandoned town of Marinka (Maryinka), which was destroyed in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in the Donetsk region, a Russian-controlled area of Ukraine, April 1, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia launched a sweeping drone assault across Ukraine overnight into Sunday, targeting multiple regions, officials said, after US President Donald Trump cast doubt over Russian President Vladimir Putin’s willingness to end the war.

One person was killed and a 14-year-old girl wounded in the city of Pavlohrad in the Dnipropetrovsk region, which was hit for the third consecutive night, regional Gov. Serhii Lysak said.

The attacks came hours after Russia claimed to have regained control over the remaining parts of the Kursk region, which Ukrainian forces seized in a surprise incursion last August. Ukrainian officials said the fighting in Kursk was still ongoing, The AP news reported.

Trump said Saturday that he doubts Putin wants to end the more than three-year war in Ukraine, expressing new skepticism that a peace deal can be reached soon. Only a day earlier, Trump had said Ukraine and Russia were “ very close to a deal.”

“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days,” Trump wrote in a social media post as he flew back to the United States after attending Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican, where he met briefly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Trump also hinted at further sanctions against Russia.

The Trump-Zelenskyy conversation on the sidelines of the pope’s funeral was the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders since they argued during a heated Oval Office meeting at the White House in late February.

Russia fired 149 exploding drones and decoys in the latest wave of attacks, the Ukrainian air force said, adding that 57 were intercepted and another 67 jammed.

One person was wounded in drone attacks on the Odesa region and one other in the city of Zhytomyr. Four people were also wounded in a Russian airstrike on the city of Kherson on Sunday morning, according to local officials.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday that air defenses shot down five Ukrainian drones in the border region of Bryansk, as well as three drones over the Crimean peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Five people were wounded when Ukrainian forces shelled the city of Horlivka in the partially occupied Donetsk region, the city’s Russian-installed Mayor Ivan Prikhodko said.