“Israel is heading for its fifth election in three and a half years”says the Jerusalem Post. In a joint statement, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yaïr Lapid announced, this Monday, June 20, that they wanted to dissolve the Parliament of the Hebrew State. The decision, which has yet to be submitted to parliamentarians in the form of a bill, is likely to lead to new elections in October.
“According to sources close to the Prime Minister, the duo intends to regain control of opposition leader Benyamin Netanyahu, and call elections themselves, without being forced to do so”, analyzes the Jerusalem newspaper. The two men have been under attack for several weeks from the former conservative Prime Minister and his party, the Likud, while their government coalition is faltering.
Friction has emerged over security tensions at the start of the year, and the extension of emergency laws protecting Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, emergency legislation renewed every five years since 1967. In April, the he ruling alliance, made up of right-wing, center, left-wing and an Arab party, even lost a majority in the Knesset.
Subsequently, the government coalition was further destabilized, with the departure, at the end of May, of left-wing MP Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi. It condemned the mistreatment of Israeli Arabs, the descendants of Palestinians who remained in the lands of Israel after its creation in 1948.
A new prime minister?
According to Jerusalem Postthe coalition agreement between Naftali Bennett and Yaïr Lapid provides for the latter to replace Bennett in the event of the dissolution of Parliament. “Once the dissolution is approved, the rotation will be implemented as planned”, said the two men, quoted by the title. Yair Lapid is therefore expected to welcome US President Joe Biden as Prime Minister during his visit next month.
The outcome of any early elections remains uncertain. According to the newspaper, “it is possible that Netanyahu will succeed in forming an alternative government”. The hard-right Likud is currently doing well in opinion polls.