Benjamin Netanyahu could lose job as Israel PM as rivals attempt to join forces
Jerusalem: A former ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said he would seek to form a coalition government with the Israeli leader's opponents, taking a major step toward ending the rule of the longtime premier.
The dramatic announcement by Naftali Bennett, leader of the small hardline Yamina party, set the stage for a series of steps that could push Netanyahu and his dominant Likud party into the opposition in the coming week.
While Bennett and his new partners, headed by opposition leader Yair Lapid, still face some obstacles, the sides appeared to be serious about reaching a deal and ending the deadlock that has plunged the country into four elections in the past two years.
It's my intention to do my utmost in order to form a national unity government along with my friend Yair Lapid, so that, God willing, together we can save the country from a tailspin and return Israel to its course, Bennett said.
The pair have until Wednesday to complete a deal in which each is expected to serve two years as prime minister in a rotation deal, with Bennett holding the job first. Lapid's Yesh Atid party said negotiating teams were to meet later Sunday.
Bennett, a former top aide to Netanyahu who has held senior Cabinet posts, shares the prime minister's hard-line ideology. He is a former leader of the West Bank settlement movement and heads a small party whose base includes religious and nationalist Jews. Yet he has had a strained and complicated relationship with his one-time mentor due to personal differences.
Bennett said there was no feasible way after the deadlocked March 23 election to form a right-wing government favored by Netanyahu. He said another election would yield the same results and said it was time to end the cycle.
A government like this will succeed only if we work together as a group, he said. He said everyone will need to postpone fulfilling part of their dreams. We will focus on what can be done, instead of fighting all day on what's impossible.
If Bennett and Lapid and their other partners can wrap up a deal, it would end, at least for the time being, the record-setting tenure of Netanyahu, the most dominant figure in Israeli politics over the past three decades. Netanyahu has served as prime minister for the past 12 years and also held an earlier term in the late 1990s.
In his own televised statement, Netanyahu accused Bennett of betraying the Israeli right wing and urged nationalist politicians not to join what he called a leftist government.
A government like this is a danger to the security of Israel, and is also a danger to the future of the state, he said.
Despite his electoral dominance, Netanyahu has become a polarizing figure since he was indicted on charges of fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in late 2019. Each of the past four elections was seen as a referendum on Netanyahu's fitness to rule, and each ended in deadlock.
Netanyahu is desperate to stay in power while he is on trial. He has used his office as a stage to rally his base and lash out against police, prosecutors and the media.
In order to form a government, a party leader must secure the support of a 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. Because no single party controls a majority on its own, coalitions are usually built with smaller partners. Thirteen parties of various sizes are in the current parliament.
As leader of the largest party, Netanyahu was given the first opportunity by the country's figurehead president to form a coalition. But he was unable to secure a majority with his traditional religious and nationalist allies.
Netanyahu even attempted to court a small Islamist Arab party but was thwarted by a small ultranationalist party with a racist anti-Arab agenda. Although Arabs make up some 20 per cent of Israel's population, an Arab party has never before sat in an Israeli coalition government.
After Netanyahu's failure to form a government, Lapid was then given four weeks to cobble together a coalition. He has until Wednesday to complete the task.
While Bennett's Yamina party controls just seven seats in parliament, he has emerged as a kingmaker of sorts by providing the necessary support to secure a majority. If he is successful, his party would be the smallest to lead an Israeli government.
Lapid already faced a difficult challenge, given the broad range of parties in the anti-Netanyahu bloc that have little in common. They include dovish left-wing parties, a pair of right-wing nationalist parties, including Bennett's Yamina, and most likely the Islamist United Arab List.
But with Wednesday's deadline looming, negotiations have kicked into high gear. Lapid has reached coalition deals with three other parties so far. If he finalizes a deal with Bennett, the remaining partners are expected to quickly fall into place.
They would then have roughly one week to present their coalition to parliament for a formal vote of confidence allowing it to take office.
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Chamoli hydropower tunnel train collision: 88 injured, magisterial probe ordered
Gopeshwar/Dehradun (PTI): Chamoli District Magistrate Gaurav Kumar on Wednesday ordered a magisterial inquiry into the collision between two loco trains inside the Pipalkoti tunnel of the under-construction Vishnugad-Pipalkoti hydropower project, which left 88 people injured.
Earlier in the day, Kumar said that the accident occurred around 8.30 pm on Tuesday at the TBM (Tunnel Boring Machine) site inside the tunnel being built by THDC (India).
A loco train carrying workers for tunnel excavation during the night shift was about two kilometres inside the tunnel when another loco train coming from the opposite direction lost control and collided with it.
One of the trains had workers and officials on board, while the other carried material.
Upon receiving information about the collision, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami ordered proper treatment for the injured. He spoke to the DM over the phone and instructed him to ensure that all the injured receive the best possible medical facilities.
DM Kumar and Superintendent of Police Surjit Singh Panwar met the injured at the Gopeshwar District Hospital.
Kumar said 109 people were on board the loco train at the time of the accident, most of them labourers. None of the injured was serious, he said.
He said that 88 of them were injured, although none of them are in serious condition. They said that 84 workers were discharged after receiving first aid, while four are still hospitalized.
DM Kumar and SP Panwar also inspected the project site and sought detailed information about the incident from the project officials.
They instructed them to strictly implement all necessary safety standards to prevent a recurrence of such an incident in the future.
After inspection, the DM issued orders for a magisterial inquiry into the accident caused by the collision of the loco trains.
Meanwhile, the Railways said the trains involved in the collision had no connection with it.
"It is clarified that this unfortunate incident occurred in Uttarakhand's Chamoli district, involving a trolley used in the local transportation system during the construction of a hydroelectric project tunnel. The train referred to in the news reports is not an Indian Railways train, but a transportation system being used locally by the project team," the government entity said in a statement.
According to officials, rail-like vehicles are used to transport workers, employees, and materials for construction work inside the tunnel.
The project, being built between Helang and Pipalkoti on the Alaknanda River, will generate 444 megawatts of electricity through four turbines. The project is targeted for completion by next year.
