Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett privately delivered comments predicting that his government would not last long enough for Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to become prime minister, according to reports published Thursday by Hebrew-language media.
“I estimate that the rotation will not happen,” Bennett was quoted by Israeli Channel 12.
“There is a considerable chance that the government will dissolve between the budget and the time of the change of power, for various reasons.”
He reportedly made the remarks at a closed meeting.
When asked about the report, Bennett’s office verified that the prime minister made those comments.
However, the department also explained that the previously agreed-upon rotation deal will still be honored by Bennett nonetheless.
“The partnership with Alternate Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is based on mutual trust and fairness,” Bennett’s office detailed, according to Channel 12.
Lapid has been serving as the Zionist entity’s alternate prime minister since Bennett’s coalition government unseated former longtime leader Benjamin Netanyahu in 2021.
He is supposed to take over Bennett’s role as prime minister in August 2023 as part of a deal the two politicians made when forming the new government.
Source: Israeli media
