Report: Bennett agrees to a government with Lapid

An official announcement on the matter is due as early as Saturday night or no later than Sunday.

Yamina chairman Naftali Bennett has agreed to form a government with Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, Channel 12 News’ Amit Segal reported on Friday.

The report comes a day after Bennett met with Lapid to discuss the possibility of forming a unity government together, without notifying his fellow Yamina lawmakers prior to the meeting.

According to Friday’s report, the new Bennett-Lapid government would be sworn in in 10 days. Bennett will be Prime Minister until September 2023, and Lapid will then replace him and serve in the role until November 2025.

An official announcement on the matter is due out as early as Saturday night or no later than Sunday.

The report noted that there are still members of Yamina, notably Ayelet Shaked, who are less enthusiastic about joining such a government.

Segal noted that if it were up to Bennett, the “government of change” with Lapid would have already been formed, since Bennett believes that when the dust settles, the right-wing camp or at least part of it will go with him and he will be able to recover there.

Shaked, on the other hand, is not as eager about joining the government as she will merely serve as Interior Minister without an opportunity to serve as Prime Minister. She also has an offer for a guaranteed spot on the Likud slate in the next election should she choose not to go with Bennett, noted Segal.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)