Netanyahu’s last stand?

AFTER 12 years as Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu may finally be unseated this weekend, but he’s not going down without a fight.

The Knesset is scheduled to hold a vote on Sunday on whether to approve the so-called “change government” with Yamina’s Naftali Bennett initially at the helm, replaced by Yesh Atid’s Yair Lapid in August 2023.

With wavering Yamina MK Nir Orbach now confirming he will support it, the eight-party coalition looks set to secure a 61-59 majority.

With the hours likely ticking down on his reign as Israel’s longest-serving PM, Netanyahu has slammed what he termed “the greatest election fraud in the history of the country and in my opinion the history of democracies”.

He has also denounced Bennett as “a habitual liar” and alleged the new government would be “more dangerous than the [2005 Gaza] disengagement and Oslo [Accords]”.

And claiming most of the press was against him, he said of the media “This is total fascism.”

In a bid to scupper the coalition, recent days have also seen protests outside the homes of Yamina MKs, with some facing death threats, amid charges of betrayal.

Idit Silman claims her son was told outside school, “Your mother will burn in hell.”

Charedi party leaders, meanwhile, dubbed Bennett “wicked” and declared, “The Jewish State is in danger!”

The Yamina leader dismissed the comments as “hysterical”.

He also hit back at Netanyahu, telling the Prime Minister to “Let go. Let the country move forward,” adding “Don’t leave scorched earth in your wake.

“We want to remember the good, the great deal of good you did during your service.”