Israel is to hold its fourth elections in two years after the two main parties in its unity government, Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud and Benny Gantz’s Blue and White, failed to meet a deadline in a row over state budgets. The coalition lasted just seven months.
The 23rd Knesset officially dissolved as the clock struck midnight on Tuesday night and the deadline to approve a 2020 budget expired.
An election has automatically been called for 23rd March 2021, though that date could yet be changed by vote.
In May, Likud and Blue and White agreed to form a power-sharing government with a rotating premiership between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz.
Unlike the previous three elections, when Netanyahu’s chief rival was Gantz and his centrist Blue and White alliance, the Prime Minister’s main challengers this time are set to come from his own right wing of the political spectrum. Former Likud minister, Gideon Sa’ar, has set up a new party, New Hope, dedicated to defeating Netanyahu. The right-wing and Orthodox Yamina party leader Naftali Bennett is also aiming to try to oust the Prime Minister.
Netanyahu is Israel’s longest-serving leader. He has held power uninterrupted since 2009, and also served a term as prime minister from 1996-1999. He is also on trial for alleged corruption and denies the criminal charges against him, dismissing them as politically motivated.
