Naftali Bennett is Israel's new PM,Netanyahu era ends

Naftali Bennett became the new prime minister of Israel, topping his predecessor and former ally Benjamin Netanyahu's 12-year regime and ending a political crisis in the country that sparked four elections in two years. Naftali Bennett, a right-wing Jewish nationalist and former tech millionaire, was to take over at the helm of the eight-party bloc, united only by their shared disdain for the hawkish right-wing leader known as Bibi. Netanyahu in typically combative style, vowed shortly before his defeat that "if it's our destiny to be in the opposition, we'll do so with our heads high until we take down this bad government and return to lead the country our way".

On Sunday, a vote in the Knesset legislature following weeks of intense political drama ended his government with a razor-thin majority of 60 to 59 in the 120-seat chamber. Bennett, 49, in a Knesset speech before the vote, promised the new government, a coalition of ideologically divergent parties, "represents all of Israel".He said the country, after four inconclusive elections in under two years, had been thrown "into a maelstrom of hatred and in-fighting". "The time has come for different leaders, from all parts of the population, to stop, to stop this madness", he said, to angry shouts of "liar" and "criminal" from right-wing opponents.