Posted on Jun 21, 2022
Israel's prime minister is stepping down, sparking a new round of elections
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https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/ [login to see] /israel-coalition-collapse-bennett-netanyahu
Israel's most diverse government in history, formed for the first time with an Arab political party, is disbanding over a disagreement about the future of Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says he will step down after lawmakers hold a vote to dissolve parliament next week, and centrist Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will take over as prime minister. Elections are likely to take place in October.
It will be Israel's fifth round of elections in just over three years, and the country's polarizing former leader Benjamin Netanyahu will try to return to power once again.
"We did everything we could to preserve this government," Bennett said in a live televised address Monday. "Believe me, we turned over every stone."
In the middle of Bennett's speech, the room suddenly went dark as the lights went out for a moment.
"How symbolic," Lapid said in the microphone.
Israel's most diverse government in history, formed for the first time with an Arab political party, is disbanding over a disagreement about the future of Jewish settlers in the occupied West Bank.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett says he will step down after lawmakers hold a vote to dissolve parliament next week, and centrist Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will take over as prime minister. Elections are likely to take place in October.
It will be Israel's fifth round of elections in just over three years, and the country's polarizing former leader Benjamin Netanyahu will try to return to power once again.
"We did everything we could to preserve this government," Bennett said in a live televised address Monday. "Believe me, we turned over every stone."
In the middle of Bennett's speech, the room suddenly went dark as the lights went out for a moment.
"How symbolic," Lapid said in the microphone.
Israel's prime minister is stepping down, sparking a new round of elections
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Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."The upcoming elections will likely focus on the question of Netanyahu's potential return to power and the possibility of future Arab-Jewish political partnership.
"While this government was one of Israel's shortest to hold office, it played an historical role by including an Arab party in the coalition and in the decisions made by the national leadership, and therefore paving the way for the possibility of more inclusion by the Arab minority in the political process and Israeli society as a whole," said Yohanan Plesner of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute.
In a video statement, Netanyahu decried the outgoing government as reliant on "terror supporters," a slur aimed at the Arab Islamist party that participated in the government.
The head of that party, Mansour Abbas, said he wished to be kingmaker in the next coalition, too.
"This is a historic step. It's still on its way. We have only begun," Abbas said. "We proved it is possible."
..."The upcoming elections will likely focus on the question of Netanyahu's potential return to power and the possibility of future Arab-Jewish political partnership.
"While this government was one of Israel's shortest to hold office, it played an historical role by including an Arab party in the coalition and in the decisions made by the national leadership, and therefore paving the way for the possibility of more inclusion by the Arab minority in the political process and Israeli society as a whole," said Yohanan Plesner of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute.
In a video statement, Netanyahu decried the outgoing government as reliant on "terror supporters," a slur aimed at the Arab Islamist party that participated in the government.
The head of that party, Mansour Abbas, said he wished to be kingmaker in the next coalition, too.
"This is a historic step. It's still on its way. We have only begun," Abbas said. "We proved it is possible."
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