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Israel's caretaker prime minister, Yair Lapid, held his first cabinet meeting since taking power.

On it, he promised to provide the country with a working government despite the upcoming fifth consecutive elections in less than four years, the Associated Press reported, quoted by BTA.

At the meeting, in which he sat next to his coalition partner Naftali Bennett, Lapid also warned that Israel would do whatever it takes to defend itself.

The occasion for this statement is yesterday's shooting down of three drones launched by the Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah.

Lapid took over under the agreement reached last year to form a coalition government.

Initially, Bennett was prime minister, but after a series of MP departures and legislative defeats, he stepped down.

Parliament dissolved itself, triggering early elections, and gave power to Lapid.

Israeli voters will go to the polls on November 1.

Lapid will try to convince them to support his centrist vision for the country's development and prevent the return to power of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who ruled Israel for more than a decade.

"In the coming months, the task of all of us around this table is to make the government work as if we are not on an election campaign. The Israeli people deserve at any time to have a working government," Lapid said. 

He faced his first challenge yesterday when Hezbollah sent drones to an area in the Mediterranean where an Israeli gas rig had recently been deployed.

With this, the Shiite movement is likely trying to influence the US-brokered negotiations between Israel and Lebanon to determine the maritime border between the two countries in an area rich in natural gas, the Associated Press notes.

"Hezbollah continues to follow the path of terrorism, preventing Lebanon from reaching an agreement on the maritime border. Israel will continue to defend itself, its citizens and its assets," Lapid said.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett will not run in the upcoming elections

The caretaker prime minister, who was his foreign minister under Bennett, will use the coming months in power to convince Israeli citizens that he is fit for the job.

He will have an opportunity to do so next week, when he will leave for talks in Paris, and the following week, when he will receive US President Joe Biden.

This could be a plus for his election campaign.

The upcoming election, like the previous four, is likely to be a referendum for and against Netanyahu at a time when he is on trial on corruption charges.

Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing, but several political parties have refused to join a government he leads, making efforts to form a cabinet and emerge from the political crisis even more difficult.

Israel

Yair lapid