This archive report was first published on 15 June 2021.
June 15, 2021, marked a significant shift in Israel's political landscape as Benjamin Netanyahu, the country's longest-serving former Prime Minister, was ousted by an eight-party diverse coalition government.
Netanyahu, who had ruled Israel for 12 years, vowed to topple the new government during a meeting of opposition parties, which he convened for the first time as the new leader of the opposition.
"The deceit government will soon be toppled," Netanyahu said, referring to the government led by nationalist Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid, which was sworn in on Sunday.
Netanyahu urged lawmakers from his allied parties to show cohesion and "iron discipline" to paralyse the coalition in the parliament, saying ending the rule of the new government would "bring redemption to the people and the State of Israel".
Lawmakers from the Likud, Netanyahu's right-wing party, heckled Bennett when he addressed the parliament on Sunday to present his new government, shouting insults and interrupting almost every sentence he said.
The establishment of the eight-party coalition government ended Netanyahu's record 12-year-long rule and also brought an end to a lingering political crisis that had seen four rounds of elections in two years.
