Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met this evening (Wednesday) at Lapid's home for a working meeting that dealt with security issues.
The meeting took place after a period of reports of tensions between the two.
Although Bennett apparently gave up the Prime Ministership in favor of Lapid, and the two leaders outwardly radiated an atmosphere of paragon during the exchange of roles between them, behind the scenes there was tension due to several issues.
Bennett, who served as prime minister for only one year, did not complete the period required by law to be entitled to the conditions of a former prime minister, which include assistants, an office, a car, and the like.
In order to meet the conditions, which are worth millions of shekels, he asked to make a change in legislation under which the period of his tenure as alternate prime minister would "count" for the benefit of the matter, which would have brought him to the threshold required by law.
Bennett and Lapid friendly in the Knesset (archive), photo: Oren Ben Hakon
Lapid decided to veto the move, especially since he realized that the new conditions would also apply to him, and this could be perceived by the public as a wasteful and improper move.
As far as Lapid is concerned, this is an issue he is very careful about, but the veto he imposed created tensions between him and Bennett.
In addition, tensions between the two were recently reported against the background of the crisis with Russia.
Lapid, according to the reports, did not consult with Bennett on the issue and did not invite him to the discussions held with the professional ranks, among other things due to the differences in attitudes between the two.
While since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Bennett has maintained a moderate line towards Russia and even tried to mediate between the two countries, Lapid adopted a more aggressive approach towards the Russians and did not hesitate to condemn the massacre carried out by Putin's soldiers in Bocha on the outskirts of Kyiv.
However, there was no complete disconnection between Lapid and Bennett, and beyond the meeting this evening this was also reflected about two weeks ago in the issue of Yossi Beilin's appointment as chairman of the Nature and Parks Authority. Bennett decided to veto the appointment by virtue of the authority granted to the alternate prime minister under the Exchange Government Law, However, a legal interpretation was soon discovered that claimed that Lapid could still advance the appointment. Despite this, Lapid made it clear that he would not use technical loopholes to act against Bennett's opinion, and in the end the appointment was dropped.
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