The office of Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett declared on Monday that the country will hold fresh elections after dissolving its frail government.
Since taking office a year ago, Bennett has battled to keep his fractious coalition of eight parties together, and defections have prevented the collapsing alliance from having a majority in parliament for more than two months.
For the first time in Israel's 74-year history, Bennett's eight-party coalition, which crossed the conventional left-right political split, was created primarily as an ad hoc coalition to unseat Netanyahu after his indictment on corruption allegations.
However, disputes within the alliance have persisted over domestic political issues, such as the Israeli government's response to the violence at the Al-Aqsa mosque earlier in the spring and the alleged involvement of Israeli security forces in the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. After two members left Bennett's coalition, giving him a 59-seat minority in the 120-member Knesset, it was decided to dissolve the government.
A vote to dissolve the Knesset, a formality that is almost guaranteed to pass, will be presented by the prime minister and coalition partner and Israeli foreign minister Yair Lapid, according to a statement from Bennett's office. Lapid, who was originally supposed to succeed Bennett in 2023, will act as interim prime minister following the dissolution of the cabinet until the fall elections.
The impending elections, which, if held as planned, will be Israel's sixth in three years, will highlight the severe differences in Israeli politics and society. Israel is divided between secular parties and religious Zionist groups that want to embed Orthodox Judaism inside Israeli legislation and society, in addition to the country's conventional left-right divide.
Together with Netanyahu's Likud party, these groups, which include Shas and United Torah Judaism, make up the majority of Israel's present political opposition. The Arab parties of the Joint List, which have varied political orientations but generally oppose both Bennett and Netanyahu, make up a smaller faction.
Between 2019 and 2021, Israel staged four unsuccessful elections that largely served as a vote on Netanyahu's ability to hold office while facing corruption charges. Netanyahu disputes the accusations.
According to opinion polls, Netanyahu's conservative Likud will once again be the largest party. However, it is still uncertain if he would be able to secure the support of enough lawmakers to establish a new administration.
The likelihood that no party or group of parties will obtain a majority after the upcoming elections makes it difficult for any group to create a government. The Knesset is dissolved and a new election is convened if a prospective prime minister cannot win the support of sixty-one parliamentarians within a predetermined amount of time. This procedure was used three times before the formation of the Bennett administration in June 2021.
