Following the narrow vote confirming the new coalition government Sunday June 13, the new prime minister of the tiny Jewish state met his predecessor Benjamin 'Bibi' Netanyahu Monday, at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem for the formal handover meeting.
The closed door meeting reportedly lasted only about 25 minutes, as Netanyahu declined to take part in the traditional transition ceremony.
Bibi had earlier in a speech Sunday vowed to lead the opposition in the country’s parliament, the Knesset, “with a very strong voice,” and predicted that his Likud Party coalition would be back in power sooner rather than later.
The Likud leader slammed his successor and former protegee Bennett of the Yamina Party “who always does the opposite of what he says, of what he promises.”
The former prime minister on Monday reportedly told his bloc of opposition members of the Knesset(MKs) that "The fraudulent government will fall quickly, because it is united solely on hatred, exclusion and greed."
Bibi in his Sunday's farewell speech also continued his public disagreement with the Biden administration over its plans to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal.
Biden and other world leaders have called to congratulate Prime Minister Bennett who has promised to continue to work closely with the United States.
Naftali Bennet is an ultranationalist and a religious Jew who has positioned himself to the right of Netanyahu his former ally. He has however partnered with centrist and left-wing parties to end Bibi's 12-year rule.
Bennet who lives in a Tel Aviv suburb, made millions in the mostly secular high-tech sector; and is a champion of the settlement movement.
The new PM's ultranationalist Yamina party won just seven seats in the 120-member Knesset in March elections — the fourth such vote in two years. But by refusing to commit to Netanyahu or his opponents, Bennett positioned himself as kingmaker. Even after one member of his religious nationalist party abandoned him to protest the new coalition deal, he ended up with the crown.