Bennett announces resignation, hopes incoming government ‘will act responsibly’
Alternate PM caps off tumultuous political career, hailing achievements of his government; agrees with outgoing PM that no sensitive decisions be made in transition period

Alternate Prime Minister Naftali Bennett notified Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Thursday that he will retire from his position in the coming days, curtailing a decade-long career in politics that was capped — and seemingly doomed — by a surprise ascension to the premiership last year.
Bennett wrote that his decision came “in light of the election result and the expected establishment of a new government,” and wished the anticipated incoming right-wing religious coalition luck.
“I hope the new government will act responsibly and with as broad a consensus as possible in the public,” he said.
In a statement, the former prime minister praised the work of his government, stating that it formulated policies through “negotiation and agreement,” and listed its achievements.
“We prevented the signing of a nuclear deal with Iran, we blocked the opening of a [United States] consulate in Jerusalem [for the Palestinians], we brought, for the first time in many years, quiet to Gaza border residents, we returned many unemployed people back to work, and we successfully passed a budget full of economic reforms,” Bennett said.
After meeting with Lapid earlier on Thursday, Bennett said the two agreed that no unnecessary sensitive political decisions would be made until the establishment of the new government.

Lapid tweeted his gratitude to his “friend and partner” in response to Bennett’s announcement.
“Together we did big things for the benefit of the State of Israel. Our story isn’t over yet,” he said.
Bennett burst onto the political scene in 2013 when his Jewish Home party took 12 seats in the elections, becoming the fourth-largest party in the Knesset.
He became economy minister in the 33rd government headed by Benjamin Netanyahu, while Jewish Home MKs took several other ministerial portfolios.
The party under Bennett also joined Netanyahu’s next government, and took eight Knesset seats. At the time, Bennett managed to secure the powerful portfolio of justice minister for running mate Ayelet Shaked while taking on the role of education minister.
After the dissolution of the 34th government, in December 2018, Bennett broke away from Jewish Home together with Shaked amid persistent tension with the party’s rabbinical leadership and set up the short-lived New Right party.
New Right failed to cross the electoral threshold in the April 2019 election, leaving Bennett out of the Knesset and out of power. But in a huge political reprieve for him, a new government could not be formed and new elections were called for September of that year.
Bennett then took a step back, allowing Shaked to lead the party, which reunited with its former hardline, religiously conservative partners National Union and Tekuma, forming Yamina.

The party took seven seats in that election, and Bennett eventually took on the post of defense minister in Netanyahu’s interim government.
Following the March 2020 election, Benny Gantz’s Blue and White party and the Likud formed a government that Bennett decided not to join.
When that government collapsed after little over a year, Bennett spent much of the next election campaign fending off accusations from Netanyahu that he would topple the long-time premier by forming a government with Lapid.
Indeed, after the 2021 elections, Bennett and Lapid formed a diverse coalition of right-wing and left-wing parties, and for the first time in Israel’s history, an Arab party, Ra’am. Bennett was to serve as prime minister for the first half of the government’s term as part of a premiership rotation deal with the Yesh Atid chair.
But after a year, the government collapsed under the weight of defections, many from his own party, Yamina, due to ideological divisions with coalition partners. With polls predicting his party would only win four seats at the elections, Bennett announced in June, shortly before the dissolution of the Knesset, that he would resign from politics.
His term as MK will end on November 15, with the swearing-in of the 25th Knesset.