The new vote in the fall. Yair Lapid will be the regent premier
It is chaos again on the Israeli political scene and it is heading towards the fifth election in just three and a half years. After days of uncertainty and ups and downs, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Deputy Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, announced today that they would give up making further efforts to stabilize the coalition. In a joint statement, the two said they will vote on a bill to dissolve the Knesset next Monday. If this scenario materializes, it is very likely that new elections will be held towards the end of October, beginning of November, immediately after the Jewish holiday period. Lapid will be chairman of the board until the new government swears. The parties of the ruling coalition said they were surprised and some even protested because they were warned of the choice of Bennett and Lapid by the media.
According to what the Jerusalem Post, Bennett would now have preferred this solution which would allow him to start an election on his own terms, without later being forced to withdraw and cede the government to Netanyahu. The Minister of Justice, Gideon Sa’ar, appeared displeased by the news and described the possible fall of the government as “irresponsible behavior of the members of the Knesset in the coalition”. He then added that the goal of any upcoming elections should still be to prevent Netanyahu from returning to power and “mortgage the country for his own personal interest.”
In truth, regarding Netanyahu, some analysts argue that there is still the possibility that Netanyahu himself will be able to form an alternative government within the current Knesset. This would happen if some coalition members – from New Hope and Yamina – switch sides and join Netanyahu’s right-wing bloc. The current coalition in fact has only 59 members remaining following the resignation of two of its members. In recent weeks, Knesset members from multiple coalition parties have expressed their displeasure with this government which, in fact, no longer having the necessary majority of at least 61 votes, can no longer pass laws.
Under Israel’s complicated parliamentary system, Netanyahu, who currently controls a block of 55 Knesset members, may therefore be able to form a new government before final votes to dissolve parliament and avoid new elections if six other members of the current coalition agree to join a government led by him. Which, according to many, could also happen. The current coalition has been faltering for several weeks now; the crisis occurred mainly due to the failure to approve a law that serves to apply Israel’s law also to the occupied territories. This law has been extended every five years by the Knessett for 55 years. Defense Minister Benny Gantz told reporters in the Knesset that he was disappointed with these latest developments because “the government has done a good job. Too bad that the state is again dragged to the elections ».
Meanwhile, despite the crisis, the United States confirmed President Biden’s visit to Israel on 13 and 14 July. He will be welcomed by Lapid as interim Prime Minister. The Likud party of current opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had already planned to present its own bill to dissolve the Knesset on Wednesday.
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