In a joint statement on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced that the government coalition will submit a bill to voluntarily dissolve itself next week, Israeli media reported.
According to The Times of Israel, “Lapid will become caretaker prime minister until a new government is sworn in” and new elections are expected at the end of October.
BREAKING: Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office says his weakened coalition will be disbanded and the country will head to a new election – the country’s fifth in three years. https://t.co/z17l3ABxsy
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 20, 2022
The move reportedly took the Israeli government’s allies by surprise. The Times of Israel wrote Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz “did not know about the final decision before it was made.”
Israeli Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked, who has been a close partner with Bennett for almost ten years, reportedly said that “there was no prior consultation with her”, according to The Times of Israel.
BREAKING: Israel's foreign minister Yair Lapid will become the new prime minister according to a rotation agreement after Lapid and current prime minister Naftali Bennett decided to hold a vote on dissolving the Knesset and call for an early election. https://t.co/VPGc1b2e1v
— Axios (@axios) June 20, 2022
Bennett’s government coalition – which includes far-right Israeli parties and a Palestinian group – has constantly been on the verge of collapse.
As of April 6, it did not hold a majority in the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) anymore, following the withdrawal of Israeli lawmaker Idit Silman, from the Yamina Party.
(The Palestine Chronicle
