WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden has yet to comment on the political earthquake shaking Israel, which could depose his longtime friend and sometimes nemesis Benjamin Netanyahu as the country's powerful prime minister. 

On Wednesday evening, Netanyahu’s opponents, led by right-wing politician Naftali Bennett and centrist Yair Lapid, beat the clock to finalize a coalition government that would end Netanyahu's 12-year rule. The agreement still needs to be approved by Israel's parliament, the Knesset, in a vote that is expected to take place early next week.

If approved, Bennett would replace Netanyahu as prime minister for the next two years, and then Lapid would take the top post, under a rotation deal the two men struck.

Bennett's rise as Israeli's possible next prime minister might, at first blush, seem to pose a fresh geopolitical headache for Biden.

For starters, Bennett has vowed to do "everything in my power, forever" to fight Palestinian statehood, and he supports unilaterally annexing 60% of the West Bank, among other inflammatory proposals that could threaten an uneasy truce in the Middle East.