Israel's centrist leader Yair Lapid is to replace the country's newly elected Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in two years, but Fred Fleitz, the president and CEO of the Center for Security Policy, told
Newsmax Monday that he doesn't think the new coalition government will last that long and
former leader Benjamin Netanyahu "may be back."
"I don't see how this government it's going to stand up to the growing security threats it's going to be facing," Fleitz said on Newsmax TV's "Wake Up America." "I don't know how it's going to stand up to dealing with the United States and its efforts to get back in the Iran deal, so I think before two years are up, we'll see. We'll see more elections."
Bennett and Lapid are leading an eight-party alliance with a wide range of religious and political persuasions, and Fleitz said that "all they agree on is that they hate Netanyahu."
Bennett is an Israeli nationalist who opposes a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine and settlements on the West Bank, but many of his coalition, including from the "radical Islamist party," do not agree with him, said Fleitz, and he doesn't see how their government can function.
David Rubin, the former mayor of Shiloh, Israel, also appearing on "Wake Up America," said that he sees Bennett as a "one-armed bandit," and agrees that the right-of-center voters who elected him feel betrayed because he "stole their votes and used them to create this strange kind of conglomerate of the far left.
"If he tries to take decisive action against Hamas, well, the far left and the Arab parties, the Arab party, and his coalition are going to be holding him back," said Rubin. "He's not going to be able to accomplish anything of a right-wing agenda, and that's the biggest problem. That's the biggest betrayal of his right-wing voters. "
President Joe Biden has already called Bennett to offer his congratulations, and Fleitz said that has happened because his administration "hated Netanyahu."
"I think the question is how are Israel's enemies going to deal with this," said Fleitz. "I think they're going to try to take advantage of it. They are going to sense weakness ... Israel has a fragile, divided government and I think Iran and Hamas are going to take advantage of this as soon as possible. They see an opening to get concessions to destroy the Israeli state, and I think they're going to move fast."
Rubin added that he doesn't think the new government can do much to fix relations between Israel and the Palestinians.
"The wounds are very slow to heal, and I don't know if they will heal," said Rubin. "Israelis are not so easily fooled."
Note: See Newsmax TV now carried in more than 100 million U.S. homes, on DirecTV Ch. 349, Dish Network Ch. 216, Xfinity Ch. 1115, Spectrum, U-verse Ch. 1220, FiOS Ch. 615, Frontier Ch. 115, Optimum Ch. 102, Cox cable, Suddenlink Ch. 102, Mediacom Ch. 277, AT&T TV Ch 349, FUBO and major OTT platforms like Roku, YouTube, Xumo, Pluto and most smart TV’s including Samsung+, Sony, LG, Vizio and more – Find All Systems that Carry Newsmax – Click Here
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.