by Ari Rabinovitch
JERUSALEM, June 20 (Reuters) – Israeli lawmakers will vote to dissolve the Knesset, paving the way for a fifth legislative election in five years this year, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Monday. the relay his Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yar Lapid.
Former journalist and leader of the main political party represented in the government coalition, Yar Lapid, a 58-year-old secular centrist, will deal with current affairs until the early legislative elections which should be organized in the fall, said Naftali Bennett .
“We must tackle the cost of life, step up the campaign against Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah, and confront the forces that threaten to turn Israel into an undemocratic country,” Yar Lapid said in a statement. alongside the outgoing Prime Minister.
A religious nationalist, Naftali Bennett governed with the support of a heterogeneous coalition bringing together left, center and right parties and a formation representing the Arab minority, formed last year to hasten the fall of Benjamin Netanyahu.
The defection last week of Nir Orbach, an MP who nevertheless came from the same party as the Prime Minister, deprived the latter of a majority in parliament and precipitated the fall of his government alliance.
Now leader of the opposition, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has not given up his ambition to return to power, was ironic about the government which, according to him, is organizing “the longest funeral in history”.
Nir Orbach’s defection came as the governing coalition failed to agree on several issues, including a bill to extend the scope of Israeli law to Israeli nationals living in settlements. in the West Bank.
“I think the government has done very well over the past year. It’s a shame that the country has been dragged into new elections,” said Defense Minister Benny Gantz, leader of a centrist party.
The fall of the Bennett government occurred a few weeks before the arrival in Israel of American President Joe Biden, on whom the Israeli authorities were counting to strengthen regional security in the face of Iranian ambitions. (Ari Rabinovitch; French version Nicolas Delame, said by Matthieu Protard)