The new coalition government led by Prime Minister-elect Naftali Bennett has won Knesset backing, paving the way for the the new government Sunday night.
Bennett became Israel's thirteenth prime minister Sunday night, ending Benjamin Netanyahu's more than 12 consecutive years in power.
Sixty MKs voted in favor of the new government, with 59 lawmakers voting against. While the government is set to include 61 MKs – an absolute majority in the 120-member Knesset, MK Said al-Harumi (United Arab List/Ra’am) abstained from the vote.
The Joint Arab List joined the Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism Party, and Religious Zionist Party in voting against the new government. One Yamina MK, Amichai Chikli, voted against the government.
Shortly after the Knesset counted the votes, Bennett was sworn in as Prime Minister, with Yair Lapid sworn in as alternate prime minister. Lapid is slated to rotate in as prime minister in two years.
The Knesset voted Sunday night to elect Yesh Atid MK Mickey Levy as the Speaker for the 24th Knesset.
Sixty-seven MKs voted for Levy, who represents the incoming coalition, while 52 MKs voted for Shas MK Yaakov Margi.
Levy is set to replace Yariv Levin (Likud), who was elected Knesset Speaker in 2020 for the 23rd Knesset, after his predecessor, Yuli Edelstein (Likud) was tapped to serve as Health Minister.