Israeli Parliament Dissolved and Bennet Bids Farewell to Premiership; Netanyahu: I Will Return to Power
Members of the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, voted on Thursday to dissolve parliament following the collapse of the ruling coalition, paving the way for the fifth general parliamentary elections in less than four years.
Accordingly, Yair Lapid, Foreign Minister, will replace Naftali Bennet, the current Prime Minister, at midnight local time and will lead the government until elections are held on November 1st (four months away).
Bennet, a former army commando and technology sector millionaire, previously stated that he will not run as a candidate in the upcoming elections. He announced late Wednesday by issuing a statement that his government left behind “a prosperous, strong, and secure country” and demonstrated that parties with vastly different ideologies can cooperate with one another.
Benjamin Netanyahu, the former Prime Minister who was removed from power more than a year ago by a coalition of right and left-wing parties as well as an Arab minority, has promised a return to power as head of the right-wing Likud party.
Prior to the Knesset vote on Thursday, he criticized the performance of the ruling coalition government, saying that when you combine “fake right” with “radical left” and “the Muslim Brotherhood,” this is the result you get.
While according to most polls “Likud” is the strongest political party in Israel, no political party yet has the necessary majority for a decisive victory in the elections and to end months of political uncertainty coinciding with increasing economic and regional security problems.
