Naftali Bennett becomes new Israeli Prime Minister and what it means for Indo-Israeli relations:

Naftali Bennett becomes new Israeli Prime Minister and what it means for Indo-Israeli relations:

Benjamin Netanyahu’s  12-year tenure as Israeli prime minister has come to an end, as the country’s parliament on Sunday approved a new coalition government led by right-wing nationalist Naftali Bennett.

Bennett, the head of an ultranationalist party that controls six seats in the 120-seat Knesset, was sworn in as Prime Minister after the Parliament,  backed the new coalition government by a razor- thin margin of 60 votes to 59.

Bennett will lead an unlikely alliance of left-wing, centrist and right-wing parties, as well as a party that represents Palestinian citizens of Israel, who account for 21 percent of the country’s population. 

The parties have little in common apart from a desire to unseat Netanyahu.

Under a rotational agreement, Bennett will serve as prime minister for two years, after which he will be replaced by centrist leader Yair Lapid, the chief architect of the new government.

They plan largely to avoid sweeping moves on issues such as policy towards Palestinians in the occupied territories while they focus on domestic reforms. 

But with little to no prospect of resuming any sort of fair peace negotiations, many Palestinians are unmoved by the change of administration, saying Bennett will likely pursue the same right-wing agenda as Netanyahu.

End of an era

Netanyahu, who served for 12 years as Prime Minister, sat silently during the vote on Sunday. 

After the new government was approved, he stood up to leave the chamber, before turning around and shaking Bennett’s hand. 

Netanyahu, the most dominant Israeli politician of his generation, failed to form a government after Israel’s March 23 election, its fourth in two years.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was quick to congratulate Bennett on his ascension to power, saying that he looked forward to meeting him and deepening their countries' strategic partnership.

Modi also conveyed his 'profound gratitude' to Benjamin Netanyahu, thanking him for his 'personal attention' to bilateral ties.

The start of Bennet's tenure marks a new phase in India-Israel relations, which have been on the upswing in recent years. However, the change of guard is unlikely to radically change bilateral ties, with the shaky nature of the ruling coalition in Israel likely to be among the aspects New Delhi will need to keep an eye on.

The new Prime Minister

Naftali Bennett, a multi-millionaire former tech entrepreneur, made his political name with hardline religious-nationalist rhetoric. However, he heads an improbable coalition put together by centrist Yair Lapid, with a razor-thin majority.

Bennett is opposed to Palestinian independence and strongly supports Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank and east Jerusalem, which the Palestinians and much of the international community see as a major obstacle to peace.

The 49-year old is a former defence minister and one-time special forces commando. He briefly served as head of the West Bank settler’s council, Yesha, before entering the Knesset (Israel's parliament) in 2013. Bennett later served as cabinet minister of diaspora affairs, education and defense in various Netanyahu-led governments.

Bennett shares Netanyahu's hawkish approach to the West Asia conflict, but the two have had tense relations over the years, as noted by the Associated Press.

Possible impact on India

Ties between India and Israel have improved greatly in the past few decades. New Delhi established full diplomatic relations with Tel Aviv in 1992, during the tenure of PV Narasimha Rao.

Later, between 2012 and 2016, Israeli exports to India saw a period of sustained growth. In this period, India was the client for 41 percent of these exports.

On 4 July, 2017, Narendra Modi became the first Indian prime minister to visit Israel, marking 25 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries.

It is important to note that Bennett held important positions in the Israeli government throughout this period. From 2013 to 2015, he was the country's Minister for Economy and from 2013 and 2019, he also held the portfolio of Minister for Diaspora Affairs. More recently, from 2019 to 2020, he was Israel's defence minister. Thus, this gives reason for hope that the positive trend for the ties between the two countries will continue.

Further, in the past few years, India has more unequivocally pushed for closer relations with Israel. The BJP-led government openly justifies its deepening of ties with Israel, and treats it as its natural friend.

The swearing in of the new government has provided some closure to a long political impasse in Israel, which saw four elections in two years. India would be watching the developments in the country and the region with keen interest.

Dayanand Nene