Likud Fail? Netanyahu’s Coalition Collapses, New Elections Are Called for April 2019

Israel’s extremist right wing ethno-nationalist leader, Benjamin Netanyahu, received a rare shock yesterday when it was revealed that his tenuous Likud-led coalition had expired.

New elections have been re-scheduled for April 2019. Desperate to curry favour with his country’s religious fundamentalists, Netanyahu even invokeing God, crowing, “With God’s help, we will win.”

All that matters for Netanyahu it seems, is to further mlitarize Israeli society, and escalate tension with its neighbours

The Jerusalem Post reports…

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the parties in his coalition decided Monday to disperse the Knesset this week and initiate an early general election on April 9, 2019.

Netanyahu boasted to his Likud faction that his coalition lasted four years and had key diplomatic, security and economic accomplishments. He said he could not initiate the election six weeks ago, when Avigdor Liberman resigned as Defense Minister and sparked a coalition crisis, because he wanted to first complete destroying tunnels on the Lebanese border in Operation Northern Shield.

“With God’s help, we will win,” said Netanyahu, who vowed to form the same coalition after the election.

Leaders of coalition and opposition parties met with Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein summoned the party heads to formalize the process of dispersing the Knesset and come to an agreed-upon election date.

Edelstein expressed pride in many of the laws the Knesset passed over its four years, specifically mentioning the Jewish Nation-State Law, but said he was disappointed in many lawmakers’ conduct and “verbal violence.” He expressed hope that the next Knesset will engage in more civil discourse.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked said her ministry will begin working on the bill to dissolve the Knesset, which is set to be brought to all three plenum votes on Wednesday.

Following the announcement of an election, party leaders made statements declaring victory. Yesh Atid chairman Yair Lapid, Zionist Union leader Avi Gabbay, Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman all predicted that they would become prime minister in the election and the Joint List’s Ayman Odeh said Israeli Arabs will come out to vote in droves.

Former prime minister Ehud Barak called it “the most important election since the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin.”

Continue this story at the Jerusalem Post

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