Israel is Preparing for its Fourth Election in Two Years

Izzi Zellan, ‘23

For the fourth time in two years, Israel is forced to hold an election after its government collapsed in late December. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, after three inconclusive elections, agreed to form a coalition between their two parties, the Likud party and the Blue and White party respectively. The coalition lasted a mere seven months.
The driving force behind the government collapse is generally considered to be Netanyahu’s desire to form a government that will be more favorable to him during his corruption trial, which is scheduled to begin hearing evidence in February.

Netanyahu made it clear he dislikes the fact that he is even being tried in the first place.
“What is on trial today is the attempt to thwart the will of the people — to topple me and topple the right-wing,” Netanyahu said.
In violation of the coalition, Netanyahu failed to pass a national budget by midnight of Dec. 22. Without a budget, the Knesset automatically dispersed.
Netanyahu, who would have been required by the coalition deal to hand over the role of prime minister later this year, is now free of that requirement with the coalition effectively abandoned. Most people, including Gantz, were skeptical that Netanyahu would give up his position, so the fact that he allowed the coalition to fall through was less than shocking.
“I admire Gantz for trying to come to a compromise, but it makes sense that it wouldn’t work, given the relationship between the two parties and Bibi’s history as prime minister,” sophomore Sophie Fischer said.
The two leaders are taking a risk in holding another election. 
Gantz began his political career only two years ago. He has since lost much of his support after going against the campaign promise that he would not serve in a government under a prime minister such as Netanyahu, who is under indictment.
Gantz said he and his party chose to form a coalition with Netanyahu “to serve the best interests of the country, given the needs and scale of the moment” but that “unfortunately, we found no partner on the other end.”
Netanyahu, in addition to being indicted with charges of fraud, bribery and breach of trust, is also facing another challenge in the form of Gideon Saar. Saar recently defected from Likud after losing its leadership race to Netanyahu and created a new party called New Hope. New Hope has drawn voters away from Netanyahu, making his path to victory much more difficult.
With another election on the horizon, the question of how Israel will move forward through its turmoil has become prevalent. With the COVID-19 pandemic still raging, Israel and its people will need to find a stable solution quickly.
“I think they should limit the number of political parties,” sophomore Shirel Benoliel said. “I do think that there will still be division between the right and the left… and that might cause some problems.”