The Israeli parliament on Thursday voted to dissolve and hold elections on November 1, the fifth in a span of just three years, while Yair Lapid was appointed as caretaker Prime Minister (PM) to oversee a smooth transition to the vote.
A statement by the Knesset said that 92 lawmakers out of the 120-member parliament voted in favour of disbanding the 24th government with no opposition. It said that members also voted against a proposal by the Likud-led opposition to hold the vote on October 25 instead of November 1.
“We’ll do the best we can for a Jewish, democratic state, good and strong and thriving, because that is the job, and it’s bigger than all of us,” said Lapid, the Coalition Foreign Minister Lapid who replaced Naftali Bennett as PM, during a handover ceremony with Bennett. Thanking Bennett for his “excellent” work, Lapid noted that he intends to continue what the coalition has been doing.
תודה נפתלי אחי @naftalibennett pic.twitter.com/QS3x72xd1O
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) June 30, 2022
“This very special position, and this country, do not belong to any one person. They belong to the entire people of Israel. I hand over to you the responsibility for the State of Israel,” Bennett told the new PM.
Lapid was also congratulated by President Isaac Herzog, who offered the incoming PM “help and support” and vowed to work together. “We are in a period of new elections. Five elections in such a short time are very unhealthy for a country,” Herzog said, urging Lapid to “take care of citizens’ needs, even if there are elections.”
Outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and incoming Prime Minister Yair Lapid held a handover ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office in Jerusalem
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) June 30, 2022
An orderly and in-depth transition meeting was then held between outgoing PM Bennett and incoming PM Lapidhttps://t.co/EXunxEssgs pic.twitter.com/qozGIrvO9e
Former PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who is looking forward to returning to power, welcomed the Knesset’s dissolution as “great news for millions” of Israelis. “They promised change, talked about healing, did an experiment—and the experiment failed,” Netanyahu said. “This is what happens when you take a right-wing pike with the far left, mix with the Muslim Brotherhood and the joint list,” he argued, referring to Bennett’s decision to partner with the Arab Ra’am party to form a stable government last year.
Lapid was congratulated by United States President Joe Biden in a tweet. Biden also thanked Bennett for his friendship over the past year. “I look forward to seeing you both in July to celebrate the unbreakable US-Israel partnership,” Biden said referring to his upcoming visit to the region, which will involve stops in Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Thank you, Mr. President.
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) July 1, 2022
The ties between Israel and the United States are unbreakable. They are based on deep foundations of shared values and a common vision for the future.
I look forward to welcoming you to Israel and strengthening the unique alliance between us 🇮🇱🇺🇸 https://t.co/rA2Tz4f0q7
Israel’s ruling coalition, which was an ideologically incompatible patchwork of parties from the left, right, and centre, was formed in June last year to end Netanyahu’s 12-year stint as PM. However, a little over a year after forming the government, the coalition collapsed due to internal differences.
The coalition witnessed several internal rebellions in recent weeks. Earlier this month, Bennett’s government failed to pass a bill extending Israeli legislation to West Bank settlements for the first time in the country’s history. A week earlier, Nir Orbach, a member of Bennett’s Yamina party, quit the coalition over internal disagreements. The move prompted Bennett to say that his government might be on the verge of collapse, as the coalition became a minority, with 59 seats in the 120-member Knesset.
When it comes to policy, I don’t expect Lapid to be much different from Bennett, which already says a lot about Israels narrow political landscape. Nonetheless, for the Israeli right, Lapid as PM is significant since he is a secular centrist who they loathe
— Mairav Zonszein מרב זונשיין (@MairavZ) June 30, 2022
Similarly, the government failed to approve the nomination of Yamina Member of Knesset (MK) Matan Kahana as Religious Minister after rebel MK Idit Silman voted against it. Silman, who is also a member of Yamina, quit the coalition in April after objecting to the government’s decision to allow bread to be brought into public hospitals, which she argues goes against Jewish religious law.
A month later, Meretz MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi exited the coalition over the police’s assault of mourners attending the funeral of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh, who was murdered by Israeli security forces according to the network. Zoabi later returned to the coalition over fears that her resignation would allow Likud to come to power.