[Global Times correspondent in Egypt Huang Peizhao] Rapid presided over his first cabinet meeting as Israel's 14th Prime Minister on July 3.

On the same day, he also invited opposition leader former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to a regular security briefing.

“Rapid has become accustomed to being in the spotlight. Born into a prominent family, Rapid became a public figure in Israel before dabbling in acting, screenwriting, music and even amateur boxing. Now, as Israel’s caretaker prime minister, Rapide has Once in the spotlight," CNN reported.

 "Take over the baton" in advance

  On June 30, the Knesset passed a bill to dissolve the Knesset with 92 votes in favor and 0 against.

Accordingly, Prime Minister Bennett "dismissed get out of class" ahead of schedule.

Under the power-sharing agreement reached by the ruling coalition in June 2021, after the new government was formed a year ago, Bennett, leader of the United Right coalition, took the lead as prime minister, with Lapid as deputy prime minister and foreign minister.

Bennett's term expires in September 2023, when Rapide succeeds him until the end of his parliamentary term in November 2025.

And now, Bennett has not served his term, and Lapid has been the "caretaker prime minister" since July 1. What's going on?

  The current Israeli ruling coalition is a temporary patchwork to counter Netanyahu and bring down the former prime minister, who has been in power for 12 years. .

This alliance has persisted for a year now, and it is considered "not easy" or even "miracle".

In April and May of this year, two MPs quit the ruling coalition one after another. As a result, the seats in the ruling coalition were reduced from 61 to 59 (out of a total of 120 parliamentary seats), and the coalition became a minority government with a precarious position.

  The immediate trigger that prompted the Israeli government to initiate the process of dissolving the parliament was that Israel’s law granting privileged status to Jewish settlers in the West Bank expired on June 30, after the previous motion to extend the bill was rejected in the parliament, and the dissolution is now Parliament can automatically extend the law for a period of six months.

 Son inherits father's business

  Rapid was born on November 5, 1963 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

His great-grandmother died in Auschwitz.

His mother is a writer and his father Tommy Rapide, a journalist, commentator and politician known for his outspoken support for secularism and criticism of Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties, served in former Prime Minister Sharon's government Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Justice.

  Rapide also began his career as a reporter and editor.

While serving in the military, he spent most of his time as a military reporter for the Israel Defense Forces weekly newspaper.

In 1991, he started writing columns for the Israeli Evening News and other media.

  Rapid began his television career in 1994, hosting the Friday Night Talk Show on Israel Television's Channel 1.

In 1997, he starred in an Israeli film about the Gulf War.

  During this time, Rapid also experimented with songwriting, scriptwriting, and some of the songs he wrote became hits and even topped the charts.

In 2008, Israel's theaters performed his first play "The Right Age of Love".

  In addition, Rapid has written several novels (mostly thrillers).

He is also an amateur boxer.

"centrist voice"

  In 2012, Rapid began to bid farewell to the literary circle and set foot on the political arena.

He created a new political party representing Israel's elite, "Have the Future", positioning himself as "the centrist voice of the Israeli middle class".

He promised to address housing costs, end conscription immunity for ultra-Orthodox and legalize same-sex marriage.

"What unites all [our supporters] is that they stand for hope, for shared responsibility, for truth on either side," Rapide, whose party won 19 elections in 2013, said at the time. The seat, second only to Netanyahu's Likud bloc, has shocked Israeli politics.

Time magazine named him one of its "100 Most Influential People" in 2013.

He joined the then-Netanyahu government as finance minister but was sacked less than two years later.

In March, Rapide facilitated the first meeting in Israel of senior diplomatic representatives from the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt and the United States during his tenure as foreign minister.

  Rapide told ministers at a cabinet meeting on the 3rd that he would "prioritize stability" in the coming months and that "Israeli citizens have the right to a continuously functioning government."

Israel's new parliamentary elections will be held on November 1.

But whether Rapide can win the November election is a huge uncertainty.

His biggest political enemy is Netanyahu.

The former prime minister has been haunted by his lost prime ministership and is trying to make a comeback.

"New elections expected to be held in the fall may bring long-serving Prime Minister Netanyahu a chance to regain power," Israel's "Jerusalem Post" reported.