![Naftali Bennett (L) and Yair Lapid in Jerusalem on 30 June 2022 [Israeli Goverment Press Office/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/AA-20220630-28301229-28301228-BENNETT_HANDS_HIS_TITLE_TO_LAPID.jpg?fit=1169%2C800&ssl=1)
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett handed over the premiership to his coalition partner Yair Lapid today, following the dissolution of the Knesset.
A handover ceremony was held between Bennett and Lapid at the prime minister’s office in West Jerusalem, the Prime Minister’s Press Office said in a statement.
Prime ministerial staff, senior officials and Bennett and Lapid’s family members attended the ceremony.
This came after Israeli lawmakers voted to pass the final readings of a bill to dissolve the Knesset, paving the way for snap elections slated for 1 November.
According to a recent agreement with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Lapid will become a caretaker premier until a new Cabinet is formed after the upcoming elections. Bennett, who has announced that he will not stand in the upcoming polls, will become the alternate prime minister.
Public opinion polls in Israel indicate the superiority of the right-wing Likud party headed by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but it is still unable to reach the threshold of 61 votes out of 120 required to form a government.The upcoming elections are the fifth in less than four years, during which Netanyahu failed four times to form a government despite his party’s victory in the elections.