On Sunday, Israel will swear in its new government and for the first time in 12 years it won't be Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who will stand at its helm.
For the next four years, unless the coalition falls apart, the position of PM will be split between two people. The hawkish Naftali Bennett will head the government until September 2023 and will be replaced by the chairman of the party Yesh Atid, Yair Lapid, who will hold the office until 2025.
Shame on Bennett?
The swearing-in ceremony, which is expected to start at 4 p.m. local time, has already drawn criticism from the country's conservative circles who plan to stage a big rally denouncing the coalition outside the Knesset.
Guy Even-Tzur, a staunch supporter of Netanyahu and his bloc, says he backs the efforts of conservatives to vent their anger at the incoming government.
For those like Even-Tzur, Bennett's decision to join a coalition with the liberal Lapid was a mistake that betrayed the trust of his voters.
"It was a shameful act. A deception. He sold out his ideology, his values, and his base of voters".
Even-Tzur is far from being the only conservative who thinks that way. According to a recent poll, 52 percent of Yamina voters said Bennett had breached their trust by joining the government of Lapid. A similar percentage of people also indicated that they wouldn't have voted for the party, had they known the outcome of such a choice.
Yamina has always spoken in favour of taking a hard-line approach on a number of disputed issues. When it comes to Jerusalem, it's advocated to keep the city united instead of splitting it with the Palestinians.
As for the issue of Palestinian prisoners accused of terrorist activity, it's urged to introduce the death sentence; and in the case of settlements in the West Bank, it's called to keep building residential units to cater to the needs of Jewish settlers.
Such will be the case with Israel's plans to extend its sovereignty over parts of the West Bank, with its attempts to solve the issue of judicial interference in politics, and deciding on whether the nation should take a capitalist or a socialist approach.
Won't Last Long
This is the why, believes Even-Tzur, this government might not last long and that it will end up crumbling before it has a chance to take off.
As for Bennett, Even-Tzur is certain he will go down in history as a politician who sold his values just to get into the prime minister's seat.
"I doubt Bennett will stay in politics. He won't be embraced by the left wing camp. The moment they accomplish their goal to remove Netanyahu, they will dump him, and he won't be able to lift himself because he has also lost many of his supporters".
"I only hope that by the time that happens, the right-wing camp will be able to unite its ranks and re-emerge with a greater force because otherwise the conservatives will be doomed, and so will Israel".
*Muslim Brotherhood is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia.
