President Jair Bolsonaro (non-party) issued a message of thanks to former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who resigned on Sunday (13), and hailed the country’s new government, led by Naftali Bennett.
“I thank @netanyahu, my great friend, for the great work we have been able to develop together to strengthen the partnership between our countries and promote the well-being of our peoples. I am sure that luck and your immense talent will not be there. missing in this new stage, “wrote the president on a social network.
“I also welcome the new Israeli government and wish Prime Minister @naftalibennett success
and Foreign Minister @yairlapid, congratulating them on the success of their elections and the formation of their government. Rest assured that Brazil will not be lacking in Israel and the Jews. “
Bolsonaro has sought to draw closer to the Israelis since the election campaign, in order to build support from evangelicals. Some religious leaders see the existence of the State of Israel as a necessary factor for the return of Jesus Christ to Earth.
Netanyahu came to Bolsonaro’s nomination in January 2019 and received the visiting Brazilian leader in Israel in March of the same year.
The former prime minister ruled the country for 12 years. Since taking office for the first time in 1996, he left in 1999 and returned to the position ten years later, holding until now. Known by the nickname Bibi, he has monopolized the country’s attention, turning every election into a showdown between his supporters and detractors.
Bibi is accused of a series of crimes, including corruption, bribery and fraud. If convicted, he runs the risk of being arrested, which would prevent him from playing politics in an attempt to regain command of the country.
Even with these accusations, Bibi remains a popular politician at home, in large part because of his economic success. In 2009, before he took office as prime minister, Israel had an unemployment rate of 9.4 percent and a GDP per capita of $ 27,730, according to data from the International Monetary Fund. With a series of financial system reforms and free market measures, he is now stepping down with an unemployment rate of 5% and a GDP per capita of US $ 47,600.
Another asset is the success of the vaccination campaign against Covid-19. Israel has the highest proportion of fully immune people on the planet – 57% of residents, according to the Our World in Data website – and has already started a large reopening.
Another problem that consumed most of Netanyahu’s governments was the conflict with the Palestinians. Netanyahu has always given a speech in which he made Israel’s security a priority and opposed peace talks – especially with the Islamist group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip.
During his reign, clashes between the IDF and the faction were common, including a war in 2014 that left thousands dead and last month’s conflict, which lasted for 11 days. These actions even generated allegations of human rights violations against Netanyahu.