On Friday, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will officially take over as interim prime minister under the terms of a coalition deal between outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Lapid last year. Since Lapid, a former journalist and star TV presenter, is an interim prime minister, there will be no formal swearing-in ceremony.
Thursday’s 92-0 vote finally concludes the slow-motion end of Bennett’s career as prime minister – one of the shortest terms in Israeli history – and offers former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a path. potential to return to power.
When the vote concluded, Lapid and Bennett hugged each other, hugged each other, and changed seats so Lapid could sit in the prime minister’s position.
As they were leaving the Knesset plant, Bennett accidentally grabbed Lapid’s cell phone. “My brother,” Lapid said, “you picked up my phone.” Bennett replied, “My brother, you took my job.”
New elections will be held on November 1, the fifth Israeli vote in less than four years. Recent polls show that former Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party is on track to get the most seats, but polls do not show that his right-wing bloc necessarily has enough seats to gain a parliamentary majority and power. form a governing government. .
Speaking in Parliament before the dissolution vote, Netanyahu vowed to return to power.
“We are the only alternative: a strong, stable and responsible national government. A government that will return national honor to the citizens of Israel,” Netanyahu said.
The night before the dissolution, Bennett announced that he would retire from politics and not run for re-election.
“I will continue as a loyal soldier of this country, whom I have served all my life as a soldier, officer, minister and prime minister. The State of Israel is the love of my life. Serving it is mine. destiny, ”Bennett said. in a speech to the nation. “Now it’s time to step back a little. Look at things from the outside.”
The coalition government had been faltering for weeks. But the announcement by Bennett and Lapid last week that they wanted to dissolve their own government and hand over power to Lapid was a surprise.
“In recent weeks, we have done everything we can to save this government. In our eyes, the continuation of its existence was in the national interest,” Bennett said earlier this month, alongside Lapid.
“Believe me, we looked under every rock. We didn’t do it for ourselves, but for our beautiful country, for the citizens of Israel,” Bennett added.
The Bennett-Lapid government was sworn in in June last year, ending the Netanyahu government, which had lasted more than 12 years.
Formed by no less than eight political parties, the coalition spread across the entire political spectrum, including for the first time an Arab party, led by Mansour Abbas.
United in a desire to prevent Netanyahu, whose corruption trial had already begun in May 2020, from remaining in power, the various coalition partners agreed to set aside their substantial differences.
Although he achieved important internal and diplomatic successes, it was domestic politics that eventually brought down the coalition.
In recent weeks it has been seen that several members of the coalition have resigned or threatened to resign, leaving the government without a majority in parliament to pass a law.
The political impasse reached its climax earlier this month, when a Knesset vote did not defend the application of Israeli criminal and civil law to Israelis in the occupied West Bank.
Among other things, the regulation, which is renewed every five years, gives Israeli settlers in the Palestinian territories the same legal treatment they have within Israel’s borders, and is an article of faith for right-wing coalition members. . including Prime Minister Bennett.
But two coalition members refused to support the bill, meaning it was not passed.
As the parliament was dissolved before the law expired on July 1, the regulation will remain in force until a new government is formed, at which time it will vote again.
Andrew Carey contributed to this report.