Yair Lapid took the office as caretaker prime minister in Israel. It occurred following a Knesset vote for self-dissolution and setting a date for the new elections.
The Israeli parliament decided to abolish itself and call elections in four months. Tel Aviv will therefore have its 5th election in a three-and-a-half-year process.
The new Knesset vote meant that Yair Lapid would start his career as a caretaker prime minister a day later. Lapid, who served as foreign minister for over a year, is credited with creating the failed coalition government.
Lapid succeeds Israel’s Naftali Bennett, who held the office for roughly a year, and will be the 14th Israeli Prime Minister. On November 1st, fresh elections will cast more light on the enigmatic political circumstance in Israel.
With this action, an experiment that lasted a year and involved eight parties from different political perspectives in Israel has officially declared failure. The effort came after a protracted period of political deadlock during which the nation staged one election per six months.
The ongoing political turmoil in Israel will be extended by the impending elections. Ex-PM Benjamin Netanyahu‘s continuing corruption prosecution is at the center of the current issue.
His ability to serve while being accused of various crimes was substantially up for debate in the four inconclusive elections that took place since 2018. The so-called Bibi is alleged with fraud, breach of trust, and accepting bribes. Netanyahu keeps rejecting the accusations while unable to provide documented evidence.
As the major challenger to Netanyahu, Lapid, a longtime talk-show presenter and leader of the moderate Yesh Atid movement, is anticipated to run for the position in November Elections. Next month, when Joe Biden, US President, visits Israel, Lapid may enjoy an early privilege three months before the elections.
Yair Lapid vs. Benjamin Netanyahu; Ongoing Deadlock
According to the recent polls, Netanyahu and his supporters are rapidly gaining favor as the opposing alliance descends more into trouble. In the 120-member Parliament, however, it is not yet apparent if they will have enough seats to create a secure majority. If no party or alliance is able to accomplish the majority, Israel may have new elections.
Naftali Bennett said a day before Knesset dissolution that he would be taking a break from political life and not be a candidate in 2018 elections. After the establishment of the administration last year, his Yamina party was torn apart by internal strife. Members of this group split out in outrage against excessive concessions to opposing parties.
Bennett’s failure to extend an emergency statute that protects the two-tiered judicial system in the occupied West Bank earlier in June was the last nail in the coffin. According to the system, Palestinians are subject to military rule while Jewish residents residing in illegal territories are governed by Israeli legislation.
The emergency law is officially extended till the election of a new administration because the Parliament was dismissed before the end of June. “They promised change, they spoke about healing, they tried an experiment, and the experiment failed,” Netanyahu asserted before the Thursday vote in Knesset. “We are the only alternative: a strong, stable, responsible nationalist government.”
Becoming the first coalition to have a party representing Palestinians in Israel, the departing government created history last year. To ensure that Palestinians residing in Israel receive better public services and greater government funds, the United Arab List joined the alliance.
The developments in Israel promises a new series of election loops which may instigate public wrath. Yair Lapid, as such, may remain the interim prime minister longer than expected.
