JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel’s weakened ruling coalition decided Monday to dissolve parliament and call new elections, the fifth in the nation in three years.
The vote, expected in the fall, could lead to the return of a nationalist religious government led by former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or another long period of political stalemate. The past four elections, which have focused on Netanyahu’s ability to face trial in corruption cases, have ended in a stalemate.
Speaking at a national televised conference, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said it would not be easy to dismantle the government, but called it the “right decision for Israel”.
The fragile ruling coalition, which includes parties from different political spectrums, lost a majority earlier this year and faced revolt by some lawmakers in recent weeks.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will cover Bennett on an interim basis under the jointly announced agreement.
Bennett listed some results and promised a “smooth” move.
Lapid thanked Bennett for putting the country’s personal interests first.
“Even if we go to the polls in a few months, our challenges as a state will not be tolerated,” Lapid said.
Bennett formed an eight -party coalition in June 2021 after four unspecified consecutive elections.
This includes a variety of parties, from Sagittarius factions advocating an end to Israel’s occupation of occupied territories in 1967 and ending with poor parties opposed to Palestinian independence. Often described as an “experiment” in politics, it has gone down in history as the first coalition government in Israel to include an Arab party.
The Alliance has achieved several successes, including using its first national budget in several years and navigating a couple of corovirus diseases without closure.
But it eventually broke down, largely because some members of Bennett’s hardline party opposed what they thought were his compromises to keep the coalition and its alleged suppression.
The immediate reason for Bennett’s decision was the exhaustion of laws that give West Coast residents special legal status. If these laws expire, the settlers will be subject to many martial laws that apply to the more than 2 million Palestinians in the area.
Parliament is expected to vote on extending the laws earlier this month. But the uncompromising opposition, which is mostly made up of crowded supporters, ironically voted in favor of the bill to embarrass the government. Members of the easy-going coalition, which is often opposed to settlements, supported the bill in hopes of keeping the government afloat.
The laws remain in effect upon dissolution of Parliament. Bennett, a former populist leader, said allowing the laws to expire was a “serious threat to security and constitutional chaos.”
“I won’t allow it,” he said.
The breakup threatened to overshadow President Joe Biden’s visit next month. The US embassy said it expects the visit to go as planned.
Netanyahu called the impending dissolution of parliament a “good story” for millions of Israelis and said he would form a “big nationalist government led by Likud” after the upcoming elections.
Israel held four unspecified elections from 2019 to 2021, most of which were referendums on Netanyahu’s ability to conduct a bribery test. Netanyahu has denied the crime.
Opinion polls suggest that the drastic liquidation of Netanyahu will continue to be the most important party. But it is unclear whether he will get the necessary support of the majority of parliamentarians to form the new government.
Source: Huffpost
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.