Who is Naftali Bennett, the new prime minister of Israel

(CNN Spanish) – After two years of political crisis and four general elections, a coalition of opposition parties in Israel managed to reach an agreement to form a government and Naftali Bennett became the country’s prime minister for the next two years.

His coming to power marks the end of the 12-year tenure of Benjamin Netanyahu, the man who led the country for the longest time.

Born in Haifa, the son of immigrants from San Francisco, Bennett served in an elite unit of the Israel Defense Forces before studying law at the Hebrew University. He later became an entrepreneur, launching a tech company in 1999 that later sold $ 145 million when he was 35 years old.

After the sale he decided to dedicate himself to politics under the wing of Netanyahu himself, and even became the chief of staff of the now former prime minister.

Bennett is known for his defense of Jewish settlers in the West Bank and became their representative, eventually becoming Minister of Defense. He also served as Minister of the Economy and Education, always under the Netanyahu government.

In 2008 Netanyahu removed Bennett as chief of staff and the two parted ways.

The end of stagnation

In these elections Bennett competed for the Yamina party, a nationalist formation that is in favor of the annexation of an important part of the West Bank, which would make any advance of the solution of the two states, one Israeli and the other Palestinian, very difficult.

However, the broad coalition that led him to be prime minister also includes parties of the center, left and even an Arab party. Such a force never ruled the country.

“Twice in history we have lost our national home precisely because the leaders of the generation were unable to sit down with others and commit. Each one was right, but with all that reason they burned our house on top of us, ”said Bennett. “I am proud of the ability to sit next to people with very different opinions from mine.”

Bennett was sworn in on Sunday as Israel’s new prime minister, winning a confidence vote by the narrowest margin, just 60 votes to 59.

Coalition government

Yamina has just seven seats in the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, making him the only prime minister in the country’s history with such a small faction.

It was Yair Lapid, leader of the 17-seat centrist Yesh Atid party in the coalition, who forged the cross-party agreements that led to the end of Netanyahu’s grip on power.

Under the general agreement, Bennett will focus on internal issues during his two years as prime minister, before handing over the reins to Lapid to complete the term.

Either way, the new government will have no choice but to grapple with some of the thorniest issues. In East Jerusalem, the eviction of several Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood is still awaiting a High Court decision.

The final ruling was delayed in an attempt to avoid tension and violence in Jerusalem last month, but it sparked an escalation that led to more than a week of conflict between Israel and Gaza, leaving hundreds dead, most of them Palestinians.

With information from José Levy, Oren Liebermann and Rob Picheta.