JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Unless a major upheaval occurs, Israel’s Knesset is set to disperse as early as Monday, paving the way for a fifth election within the past three years and for Yair Lapid to become caretaker prime minister.
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Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Lapid last week announced their decision to dissolve the 24th Knesset after just one year in power due to their inability to keep their coalition together any longer.
The Knesset on Wednesday already approved a preliminary bill to dissolve itself and is expected to formally disperse this week after going through two committee reviews and three more votes to voluntarily disband. Lapid will then take over as prime minister through elections in the fall, according to the coalition agreement.
The Knesset can complete the legislative process to disperse as early as Monday. Channel 12 reported that the legislative session on Monday will continue as late as needed to pass the final readings of the dispersal law, with both the coalition and opposition keen to pass it quickly.
Although the Knesset approved the first of four votes on Wednesday to voluntarily disband, Yamina MK Nir Orbach, who left the coalition but still heads the Knesset’s House Committee, held up the process until Monday to give the opposition a chance to form its own government within the current Knesset without sending Israelis to the polls.
There is still a slim chance of the opposition succeeding in enticing MKs from the coalition into forming an alternative government, since a number of coalition parties are currently wobbling near the electoral threshold but only Ayelet Shaked of the Yamina party has expressed willingness to sit in a coalition under Netanyahu despite the ongoing court cases against him.
Other coalition leaders have ruled out joining Netanyahu, including Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who heads the Blue and White party, and Sa’ar, who leads the New Hope faction. Liberman, who leads Yisrael Beitenu, refuses to sit either with Netanyahu or with chareidi parties.
Prime Minister Bennett has said Netanyahu is “divisive” and “not the right person” to serve as prime minister, but has not ruled out cooperating with him.
Orbach, one of the coalition’s most right-wing members, effectively cut ties with the ruling bloc last week, robbing it of a majority in the Knesset and ultimately leading to Bennett’s decision to set in motion the process to dissolve the Knesset for new elections.
In announcing he was quitting the coalition, Orbach said he preferred for the government to be replaced by an alternative coalition, which can be done if at least 61 lawmakers support a different cabinet slate. Such a move would void the need for another round of elections.
If the Knesset disbands on Monday, as planned, Lapid will take over as prime minister on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to Saturday media reports.
The major challenge for the current government will be the controversial Judea and Samaria law, which allows Israeli law to be applied in the regions conquered in the 1967 war. The law was usually ratified automatically every five years but a number of Arab legislators in the coalition refused to support the current law and the Likud also voted against in an attempt to bring down the coalition.
If the bill expires at the end of June, it could spell chaos for Judea and Samaria, since with no Israeli law applicable criminal activity and terrorist activities could increase dramatically. However if the Knesset dissolves before July 1st, the bill will automatically be renewed for six months, effectively carrying it past the election period. If a right-wing government will be formed after the elections, the bill would pass easily but a left-wing government would likely have the same problem as Bennett’s coalition, which fell apart over the bill.