Israel will be returning to the polls in November 1. This will be his fifth election after just three years. The dissolution of the coalition was approved by Parliament. Soon after, Naftali Benjaminnet formalized the transfer to his coalition partner Yair Lepid who will combine the roles of Prime Minister and Head Foreign Affairs.
Ended a year of coalition government, whose greatest success was ending Benyamin Netanyahu’s twelve-year tenure in power and passing the Budgets. The strong political differences between forces with opposing tendencies, including ultra-nationalists and Islamists, within the alliance have not resisted the pressure of each vote in this chamber.
“I give you the Holy Staff and the responsibility of Israel to me. At the ceremony of the transfer, Bennet said, “I hope you protect him, and God protects me.” This also marks the end of Bennet’s political career, at least temporarily. He has decided to not run for the next elections. Lapid responded by saying that he hopes to “do the best possible for a Jewish democratic, strong and secure state.”
Israel now has an interim head of government. He is awaiting elections, which will be presented as a plebiscite against Netanyahu. The Likud leader has been in campaign mode for twelve months and declared that he is the “only alternative!” He promised “a strong, responsible, and nationalist government.”
Netanyahu’s problem is that polls show another close result between his supporters, and detractors. This all points to an extension of the political blocade. The corruption case he opened with the Justice is another major problem for the 72-year-old Israeli politician.