Israel set for possible fifth election in four years as PM Bennett moves to

Along with his key coalition ally Foreign Minister Yair Lapid — who now looks set to replace him as leader as early as next week — Bennett has agreed to submit a bill to dissolve parliament, which if passed would trigger a general election later this year.

The announcement followed weeks of mounting political uncertainty in Israel, but still came as a major surprise.

A short statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said the move came “after attempts to stabilize the coalition had been exhausted.” A bill would be submitted to parliament at some point next week, the statement added.

If it is passed, Lapid will become the country’s fourteenth Prime Minister, in line with the original coalition agreement struck last year. It also means Israelis will be going to the polls for the fifth time in under four years.

Among the first items on Lapid’s agenda, assuming he does become leader, will be preparing for the visit of US President Joe Biden next month. A senior administration official said the President’s trip to the Middle East is still expected to go ahead despite the political shakeup in Israel.

“We have a strategic relationship with Israel that goes beyond any one government. The President looks forward to the visit next month,” the White House official said.

The Bennett-Lapid government was sworn into office in June last year bringing an end to the premiership of Benjamin Netanyahu, which had lasted some twelve and a half years.

Made up of no fewer than eight political parties, the coalition stretched right across the political spectrum, including for the first time an Arab party, led by Mansour Abbas.

United in a desire to prevent Netanyahu — whose corruption trial had already begun in May 2020 — from remaining in power, the disparate coalition partners agreed to put their substantial differences to one side.

In November, it notched up a significant domestic achievement, passing a state budget for the first time in nearly four years.

But recent weeks have seen a number of coalition members either quitting, or threatening to quit, leaving the government without a majority in parliament to pass legislation.

The political impasse came to a head earlier this month, when a Knesset vote failed to uphold the application of Israeli criminal and civil law to Israelis in the occupied West Bank.

Among other things, the regulation, which comes up for renewal every five years, gives Israeli settlers the same rights as citizens in Israel, and is an article of faith for right-wing members of the coalition, including Prime Minister Bennett.

But two members of the coalition failed to support the bill, meaning it failed to pass. If parliament dissolves before July 1st, the regulation will remain in place until a new government is formed.