Netanyahu ousted, Bennett Israel's new prime minister

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s 12-year hold on power ended on Sunday as Israel’s parliament approved a new coalition government.

After a record 12 years under Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel entered a new era Sunday, voting in a motley coalition united by animosity towards “Bibi” and installing his one-time protege Naftali Bennett as prime minister.

Sixty members of the Knesset voted in favour of the ideologically divided alliance and 59 against, with one abstention.

Bennett will serve as prime minister for two years, after which coalition architect, centrist Yair Lapid, is set to take over. Lapid, 57, is to serve as foreign minister for the next two years.

In Tel Aviv’s Rabin Square, Netanyahu’s opponents broke out in cheers and launched into an evening of joyous celebrations, having rallied in recent days with “Bye bye Bibi” placards.

Bennett, 49, in a Knesset speech before the vote, promised the new government, a coalition of ideologically divergent parties.

“The time has come for different leaders, from all parts of the population, to stop, to stop this madness”, he said, to angry shouts of “liar” and “criminal” from right-wing opponents.