The new Israeli government agreed on Friday to transfer 1.2 million doses of Pfizer COVID vaccines to the Palestinian Authority. In return, Israel will receive the Pfizer vaccine shipment that the Palestinians were expected to get in October.

Why it matters: It's the first major decision by the new Israeli government on the Palestinian issue. Negotiations on the deal began during Netanyahu’s term but were expedited by the new government, Israeli health officials say.

Ramallah — Palestinian leaders had hoped for a long time to get rid of Benjamin Netanyahu, but they didn’t want to end up with Naftali Bennett as Israel's prime minister.

The big picture: The Palestinian leadership in Ramallah considers Bennett a hardliner because he has opposed the establishment of a Palestinian state and previously called for Israel to annex Area C, which constitutes 60% of the West Bank.

New Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is signaling he intends to move cautiously at first on issues like Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, an approach that will suit the Biden administration just fine.

Why it matters: Bennett is aiming to avoid an early confrontation with the U.S., and his fragile and ideologically diverse government will have a hard time taking any groundbreaking steps on foreign policy in the first place.

Israel's military said it carried out airstrikes in the Gaza Strip early Wednesday after incendiary balloons were launched from the Palestinian territory.

Why it matters: It's the first major flare-up since last month's fragile ceasefire ended 11 days of flighting between Israel and Hamas. It also comes just days after Israel's new coalition government led by Naftali Bennett took power.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said in a ceremony on his first day in office on Monday that the new government must repair Israel's relationship with the Democratic Party, which he said had badly deteriorated during Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure as prime minister.

What he's saying: "The previous government took a bad and lightheaded bet to focus only on the Republican Party and abandon Israel’s bipartisan status in America," said Lapid, who is also the alternate prime minister and heads the biggest faction in the new coalition. He called Netanyahu's behavior toward the democrats "disgraceful and dangerous."

Naftali Bennett yesterday became prime minister of Israel, succeeding Benjamin Netanyahu, after his power-sharing government survived a vote of confidence.

Why it matters: Bennett becomes Israel's first new prime minister since 2009, and he takes office as Netanyahu stands trial for corruption.

Israel has a new prime minister for the first time since 2009 after a power-sharing government led by Naftali Bennett survived a confidence vote on Sunday. Bennett was sworn in as prime minister.

Why it matters: Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister and the man around whom Israeli politics have revolved for a decade, will now become opposition leader. Bennett, a right-wing former Netanyahu protege, will lead the most ideologically diverse government in Israeli history.

Hours before a vote to oust him, outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused President Biden of endangering Israel's security by taking a soft line on Iran, and claimed his successor, Naftali Bennett, would be too weak to stand up to Washington.

Why it matters: Netanyahu waged a desperate but unsuccessful campaign to stop a "change coalition" from joining together to replace him after an inconclusive election in March. Facing an imminent demotion to opposition leader, he foreshadowed a willingness to damage the U.S.-Israel relationship to put his rival under pressure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party rejected on Thursday the comparisons being made in the U.S. between his efforts to block a transition of power and those of former President Trump after the November 2020 presidential election.

Why it matters: On the verge of being replaced after 12 years in power, Netanyahu has been working to delegitimize the incoming government and accusing its leaders of perpetrating “the fraud of the century." But Likud tweeted on Thursday that Netanyahu wasn't challenging the vote count and was committed to a peaceful transition.

A group of Jewish Democrats in the House is publicly feuding with Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) after she tweeted about "unthinkable atrocities committed by the U.S., Hamas, Israel, Afghanistan, and the Taliban," in reference to investigations by the International Criminal Court.

Why it matters: The clash threatens to reopen a fault line within the party that could cost Omar her seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, writes Punchbowl News.