(MENAFN- AzerNews)
By Trend
Israel's interim Prime Minister Yair Lapid on Sunday pledged to
run a functional government despite another round of political
instability that triggered new elections, Trend reports citing Xinhua .
In the first cabinet meeting since Lapid took office as interim
prime minister on Friday, he sat next to his predecessor Naftali
Bennett. The two rotated on Friday under a power-sharing deal they
agreed upon in June 2021, after their ideologically diverse
eight-party coalition government collapsed only a year after it
took office.
'Our goal in the coming months will be to manage the government
as if there were no elections ... This is what I expect from my
fellow ministers,' Lapid told the ministers at the beginning of the
meeting.
'This government will continue to act for the good of the
citizens,' he said, adding 'we will make decisions, we will take
actions, and we will continue to increase the economic, diplomatic
and security strength of Israel.'
Lapid encountered his first security challenge as prime minister
on Saturday. Three drones approached the airspace over Israel's
territorial waters, near the recently built Karish natural gas
platform. An Israeli fighter jet and a Navy missile cruiser
intercepted the drones, the Israeli military said in a
statement.
Lapid said Israel would take the necessary measures to thwart
threats and defend itself, its people and its assets.
Lapid will serve as the country's interim prime minister until a
new government is formed after the elections scheduled on Nov.
1.
The parliament, or Knesset, voted to dissolve itself last week
after the coalition lost its majority in the parliament, sending
Israelis to the ballots for the fifth time in less than four
years.
Lapid is expected to embark on his first diplomatic journey as
prime minister on Tuesday, traveling to Paris to meet French
President Emmanuel Macron. In mid-July, he will host United States
President Joe Biden, whose Middle East trip includes stops in
Israel and Saudi Arabia.
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