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Bennett to announce he's joining opposition to form new Israeli government, oust Netanyahu

29 May 2021
 Dan Ackermann

The leader of right-wing Yamina party Naftali Bennett could announce as early as Sunday that he is joining opposition leader Yair Lapid to form a power-sharing government in Israel, sources familiar with the issue tell Axios.

Why it matters: If a new "change government" will be formed, Bennett will be prime minister and will bring an end to 12 years of Benjamin Netanyahu rule. Such a development could end the political crisis that led to four consecutive elections in two years.

Flashback: Three weeks ago, Lapid was on the verge of forming a power-sharing government that would see Bennett serve first as prime minister for two years before Lapid rotates into the job. But Bennett backtracked amid the Gaza conflict.

Driving the news: Bennett met Lapid on Thursday and according to several press reports told Lapid he wants to join a power-sharing government, but still needs to get other members of his party behind him, mainly his deputy Ayelet Shaked.

  • Bennett held consultations on Saturday night (local time) with Shaked and other close confidants.

What to watch: On Sunday morning, he will hold a meeting with all the members of Knesset from his party to hear their views on the possibility of joining a "change government."

The big picture: If a new government is formed, it will be the most wide-ranging coalition ever formed in Israel.

Such a government will be highly fragile, avoid controversial issues, take all decisions in consensus and focus on the economy, post-COVID-19 relief and stabilization of the Gaza ceasefire.

  • Even such an agreed-upon agenda will be very hard to implement and the government could fall apart within months.

What's next: Lapid's mandate for forming a government expires on Wednesday.

  • If Bennett announces he's joining the "change government," Lapid wants to sign all coalition agreements by Wednesday, notify Israeli President Reuven Rivlin he managed to form and swear in the new government as early as next Monday.
  • This gives Netanyahu another week to try and sabotage the new government and prevent Lapid and Bennett from mastering the majority they need.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.