Jerusalem: IsraelA cabinet minister said on Tuesday that the outgoing coalition government would expedite a bill this week to dissolve parliament, leading to the country’s fifth election in three years.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Monday that he would break his alliance of eight ideologically diverse parties and send the country to polls, a year after taking power. A series of defections from his Yamina party stripped the coalition of its majority in Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset.
Bennett cited the coalition’s failure earlier this month to expand a law that gives West Bank settlers special legal status as the main impetus for new elections. His key aide, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, will remain acting prime minister until a new government is formed after the election, which is expected in October.
Welfare Minister Meir Cohen, a member of Lapid’s Yes Atid party, told Israeli public broadcaster Cannes that the coalition would bring the bill to an early vote on Wednesday.
“We hope to complete the process within a week,” Cohen said. “The intention is to end this as soon as possible and go to the polls.”
A parliamentary committee on Wednesday approved an early vote to dissolve parliament, with the final vote expected early next week.
Prime Minister’s chances have increased before the new election Benjamin NetanyahuNow the Leader of the Opposition will be able to make a comeback. Netanyahu was ousted by an eight-party coalition after four inconclusive elections, which were largely seen as a referendum on his fitness to rule. Coalition factions range from moderate liberals opposing Israeli settlements to hardline nationalists rejecting Palestinian statehood. It was their opposition to Netanyahu that brought them together.
Netanyahu is currently on trial for corruption, but he has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing allegations made by his political opponents. Israeli law does not explicitly state that a politician under indictment cannot become prime minister.
As politicians gear up for a fall election, several members of the coalition are considering the possibility of passing a law before the Knesset is dissolved that would bar a legislator accused of a crime from serving as prime minister. .
Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said his Israel Beytenu party aims to “prevent Benjamin Netanyahu from returning to power in the upcoming elections.” Along with the bill to dissolve Parliament, he said he would move legislation on Wednesday to bar an MP from holding the office of prime minister.
“I hope the bill also gets a majority,” he said at an economic conference organized by the Israel Democracy Institute.
Justice Minister Gideon Saar, leader of the New Hope Party, told Army Radio that his faction advocated such a bill and would vote in favor of it if it was brought to parliament.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced on Monday that he would break his alliance of eight ideologically diverse parties and send the country to polls, a year after taking power. A series of defections from his Yamina party stripped the coalition of its majority in Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset.
Bennett cited the coalition’s failure earlier this month to expand a law that gives West Bank settlers special legal status as the main impetus for new elections. His key aide, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, will remain acting prime minister until a new government is formed after the election, which is expected in October.
Welfare Minister Meir Cohen, a member of Lapid’s Yes Atid party, told Israeli public broadcaster Cannes that the coalition would bring the bill to an early vote on Wednesday.
“We hope to complete the process within a week,” Cohen said. “The intention is to end this as soon as possible and go to the polls.”
A parliamentary committee on Wednesday approved an early vote to dissolve parliament, with the final vote expected early next week.
Prime Minister’s chances have increased before the new election Benjamin NetanyahuNow the Leader of the Opposition will be able to make a comeback. Netanyahu was ousted by an eight-party coalition after four inconclusive elections, which were largely seen as a referendum on his fitness to rule. Coalition factions range from moderate liberals opposing Israeli settlements to hardline nationalists rejecting Palestinian statehood. It was their opposition to Netanyahu that brought them together.
Netanyahu is currently on trial for corruption, but he has denied any wrongdoing, dismissing allegations made by his political opponents. Israeli law does not explicitly state that a politician under indictment cannot become prime minister.
As politicians gear up for a fall election, several members of the coalition are considering the possibility of passing a law before the Knesset is dissolved that would bar a legislator accused of a crime from serving as prime minister. .
Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said his Israel Beytenu party aims to “prevent Benjamin Netanyahu from returning to power in the upcoming elections.” Along with the bill to dissolve Parliament, he said he would move legislation on Wednesday to bar an MP from holding the office of prime minister.
“I hope the bill also gets a majority,” he said at an economic conference organized by the Israel Democracy Institute.
Justice Minister Gideon Saar, leader of the New Hope Party, told Army Radio that his faction advocated such a bill and would vote in favor of it if it was brought to parliament.