Bibi Avoids Snap Polls for Now As Bennett Says Not Quitting Gov’t

Local Editor

The fate of “Israeli” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing government narrowly avoided collapse Monday morning, as hawkish education minister Naftali Bennett and justice minister Ayelet Shaked were expected to announce their resignation in a joint press conference, toppling the government and triggering early elections.

However, the two key ministers said they will not resign at this time, significantly reducing the possibility of early elections being called for now.

Bennett and Shaked, both members of the religious nationalist “Jewish Home” party, were to address the press at 10:30 am Occupied Palestine time. Netanyahu spoke shortly before and addressed the "severe security situation" that he said requires the government remain in place.

The expected resignation of two key ministers came after days of intense negotiation in the “Israeli” cabinet, following the resignation of Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman on Wednesday as war minister.

Lieberman’s shock resignation left Netanyahu with a very narrow one-seat majority in the Knesset, the “Israeli” parliament, and the withdrawal of the “Jewish Home” faction would topple the government and force early elections.

The “Jewish Home” party, which currently holds eight seats, had demanded that the war portfolio be given to Bennett in the wake of Lieberman’s resignation or face a coalition breakdown.

So-called Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, whose center-right party Kulanu holds 10 seats, was said to have vetoed Bennett’s nomination, but talks between Kahlon and Netanyahu did not lead to a resolution to the crisis on Sunday night.

Instead, Netanyahu announced that he would take over the war portfolio while dismissing early elections as "irresponsible" while in the midst of what he called a "particularly complex security situation".

The Prime Minister, who now serves as both war minister and foreign affairs minister, made an impassioned plea to maintain his government on Sunday evening. Mentioning his service in the “Israeli” Special Forces, he asked for the people’s confidence for what he called his “clear plan” for the Gaza border area.

"I know what to do and when to do it. And we will do it. We are in an intensifying battle, and in the middle of a battle we don't abandon our posts. In the middle of a battle we do not play politics. The security of the nation is beyond politics, and the security of the nation is also beyond personal concerns", he said.

Netanyahu has been under intense criticism for his handling of the ceasefire with Hamas in the latest bout of fighting in Gaza, facing protests in the streets of the Gaza border region, and large disapproval ratings over his handling of the country’s security situation.

Were elections to be held now, Netanyahu's Likud party would still win by a landslide, a survey conducted by Hadashot revealed on Wednesday.

While the survey found that 74% of “Israelis” are unsatisfied with Netanyahu on security matters, his Likud party would still receive 29 seats, 11 seats more than the opposition party Yesh Atid.

Zionist Union, which is made up of Histraduth and Labour, received 11 seats, Meretz 6 seats and the Joint Arab list 12 seats.

On the coalition side, the ultra-Orthodox parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism received 6 and 7 seats respectively, Lieberman’s party, Yisrael Beytenu, received 7 seats, Bennett's “Jewish Home” 11 seats, and Kahlon's Kulanu party 8 seats.

Early elections have loomed since March, when Netanyahu’s fragile coalition was sent into a tailspin after the head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party Yaakov Litzman threatened not to support the government’s 2019 budget if a draft bill to exempt religious Jews from military conscription was not approved.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team