Israeli govt collapses, sending country to fourth election in 2 years

Tel Aviv [Israel], December 23 (ANI): The Israeli government on Tuesday collapsed after the country Parliament failed to meet a deadline for passage of budgets.
Israel will head for fourth elections in two years, probably on March 23 next year, CNN reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partner, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, have blamed one another for the collapse of their seven-month-old government
“Blue and White withdrew from the agreements [to modify the original coalition agreement] and dragged us to unnecessary elections during the corona crisis,” said Netanyahu, who on Saturday evening became the first Israeli to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. “We do not want an election and we voted against it … but we are not afraid of elections — because we will win!”
Gantz, referencing the corruption charges facing Netanyahu, said: “I regret that the Prime Minister is preoccupied with his trial and not the public interest, and is prepared to drag the entire country into a period of uncertainty, instead of ensuring economic stability and a rehabilitation of the economy.”
Earlier this year, after the three inconclusive elections, Gantz agreed to join Netanyahu in April, in what was described as an “emergency” coalition government.
The prime ministership would have been rotated between the two-party leaders: Netanyahu would serve first, and then give way to Gantz after 18 months.
The only loophole in the complicated deal was if lawmakers failed to agree to a budget before Tuesday’s midnight deadline — a failure that has now come to pass.
The fate of the government had appeared sealed after the Knesset failed in the early hours of Tuesday to pass a bill at first reading that would have extended the deadline for reaching a budget agreement.

Over 40 pc Israelis blame Prime Minister Netanyahu for snap elections

Tel Aviv [Israel], December 23 (ANI/Sputnik): Over 40 per cent of Israelis blame Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the leader of the Likud party, for the necessity to hold snap parliamentary elections, while 18 per cent of respondents believe that Defense Minister Benny Gantz, the leader of Blue and White party, is responsible for that, a fresh poll showed.
Early on Wednesday, the speaker of Israel‘s 120-seat unicameral parliament Knesset, Yariv Levin, said that the early parliamentary elections in the country would take place on March 23, 2021. The results of the poll were published hours before the dissolution of the parliament. The number of respondents and margin of error were not mentioned.
According to the poll by Kantar company conducted for Kan broadcaster, 43 per cent of respondents said that Netanyahu was responsible for the fact that Israel will go to polls for the fourth time in two years.

The respondents were also asked who they see as the most suitable candidate for the post of prime minister. As many as 39 per cent of nationals chose the acting prime minister, while 36 per cent would like to see former Interior Minister Gideon Saar, who has recently left Likud and announced the establishment of his own party. A total of 23 per cent named former Defense Minister Naftali Bennett, the leader of the Yamina party.
The poll showed that if the elections were held now, Likud would receive 28 mandates (three more than at the previous poll), Gideon Saar’s new party would have 20 seats, while Yamina would get 15 mandates.
Earlier, reports emerged that the main coalition partners in the Israeli government – Likud and Blue and White parties – agreed that the next state budget would be adopted on December 31, which would make it possible to avoid an early dissolution of Knesset and holding early elections.
However, overnight into Tuesday, Knesset, by a majority vote (49 to 47), rejected in the first reading the bill extending the budget approval period for 2020 and 2021, which led to the automatic dissolution of Knesset at midnight on Wednesday due to the non-approval of the state budget. (ANI/Sputnik)