Israel: Yair Lapid was officially selected as the 14th PM of Israel after the Parliament on the intervening nights of Thursday and Friday dissolved itself. Lapid’s tenure as the PM would be short-term as he takes over the caretaker government ahead of the election which was scheduled to take place on November 1st.
“We’ll do the best we can for a Jewish, democratic state, good and strong and thriving, because that is the job, and it’s bigger than all of us,” Lapid said at a handover ceremony with the outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Thursday afternoon.
On his first day in office, Lapid’s first agenda is to hold the meeting with Ronen Bar, the head of the Shin Bet security agency, at the Kirya military headquarters in Tel Aviv. Lapid is also scheduled to make a brief trip on July 5 to Paris, where he will meet with French President Emmanuel Macron, according to local reporters.
On Sunday, Lapid is expected to convene the first weekly cabinet meeting of his premiership. Bennett is set to remain in the government as an alternate prime minister. He will also continue to hold responsibility for the country’s Iran policy.