Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Israel Heads to Election as Netanyahu Fails to Form Government
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
May 29, 2019

Share

JERUSALEM —  Israel’s parliament voted to dissolve itself early Thursday, sending the country to an unprecedented second snap election this year as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a governing coalition before a midnight deadline.

The dramatic vote, less than two months after parliamentary elections, marked a dramatic downturn for Netanyahu and sent the longtime leader’s future into turmoil.

Netanyahu, who has led Israel for the past decade, had appeared to capture a fourth consecutive term in April’s election. But infighting among his allies, and disagreements over proposed bills that would protect Netanyahu from prosecution stymied his efforts to put together a majority coalition.

After the vote, opposition leader Benny Gantz angrily accused Netanyahu of choosing self-preservation over allowing the country’s political process to run its course.

Rather than concede that task to one of his rivals, Netanyahu’s Likud party advanced a bill to dissolve parliament and send the country to the polls for a second time this year.

Had the deadline passed, Israel’s president would have given another lawmaker, most likely opposition leader Benny Gantz, an opportunity to put together a coalition. After the vote, Gantz angrily accused Netanyahu of choosing self-preservation over allowing the country’s political process to run its course.

Gantz said that instead of following procedure, Netanyahu opted for “three crazy months” of a new campaign and millions of wasted dollars over new elections because he is “legally incapacitated” by looming indictments.

“There is no other reason,” Gantz said.

Israel Enters Uncharted Political Waters

Netanyahu’s Likud party won 35 seats in the April 9 election, and his religious and nationalist allies won another 30, appearing to give him a solid majority in the 120-seat parliament.

But discord between his ultra-Orthodox allies and former Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s secular nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party resulted in a deadlock.

After the vote, Netanyahu angrily accused Lieberman of making unrealistic demands and forcing an unnecessary election.

“He is dragging the entire country for another half a year of elections,” he said.

Wednesday’s vote sends the country into uncharted political waters, no less because Netanyahu, the interim prime minister, still faces a likely indictment for a battery of corruption charges just around the time of the election.

“But he is more fearful of the mandate to form a government going to someone else.”

DON'T MISS

Canadian National Anthem Booed, but Only Lightly, at 4 Nations Hockey Tournament

DON'T MISS

Former Vice President Kamala Harris to Be Honored by NAACP With Its Chairman’s Award

DON'T MISS

‘Life-Threatening Cold’ Expected as Polar Vortex Stretches Across US

DON'T MISS

Where to Chill on the Cheap in the Caribbean

DON'T MISS

Should Builders Permit Their Own Projects? Post-fire LA Considers a Radical Idea

DON'T MISS

I Was a Bad Father. How Do I Live With the Regret?

DON'T MISS

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

DON'T MISS

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

DON'T MISS

Sean Combs Sues NBC Over Documentary That He Says Defamed Him

DON'T MISS

European Detour Destinations Are 2025’s New Travel Trend

UP NEXT

White South Africans Rally for Trump, Claim Racism Victimhood

UP NEXT

Poll: Where US Adults Think the Government Is Spending Too Much

UP NEXT

Zelenskyy Says He Will Only Meet Putin After Common Plan With Trump Is Negotiated

UP NEXT

Middle East Latest: Palestinian Militants Name 3 Israeli Men to Be Freed in Next Hostage Release

UP NEXT

Trump Wants Denuclearization Talks With Russia and China, Hopes for Defense Spending Cuts

UP NEXT

USAID in Turmoil as Aid Programs Cut, Staff Stranded

UP NEXT

Belarus Releases 3 People, Including an American and a Jailed Journalist

UP NEXT

Pentagon’s New Media Rotation Program Boots NPR, NY Times, NBC News

UP NEXT

President Trump and Putin Have Agreed to Start Negotiations to End the Ukraine War

UP NEXT

Apple Changes Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America on Maps

Where to Chill on the Cheap in the Caribbean

5 hours ago

Should Builders Permit Their Own Projects? Post-fire LA Considers a Radical Idea

6 hours ago

I Was a Bad Father. How Do I Live With the Regret?

6 hours ago

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

1 day ago

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

1 day ago

Sean Combs Sues NBC Over Documentary That He Says Defamed Him

1 day ago

European Detour Destinations Are 2025’s New Travel Trend

1 day ago

California’s Aging Population Will Test Whether Its Demography Is Destiny

1 day ago

A Former Firefighter in the Legislature Has Ideas. Will Democrats Listen?

1 day ago

Mind-to-Text: How AI Is Learning to Decode Brain Signals Into Sentences

2 days ago

Canadian National Anthem Booed, but Only Lightly, at 4 Nations Hockey Tournament

BOSTON — The Canadian national anthem was booed, though somewhat tepidly, by the fans at the 4 Nations Face-Off on Monday — apparent payback...

1 hour ago

Team United States fans cheer after their team defeated Canada in a 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game in Montreal, Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press via AP)
1 hour ago

Canadian National Anthem Booed, but Only Lightly, at 4 Nations Hockey Tournament

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, boards Air Force Two at the Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2024. Harris might have traveled on Friday to Philadelphia or Milwaukee for the umpteenth time, but motivating tuned-out voters in battleground states required something different. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times)
2 hours ago

Former Vice President Kamala Harris to Be Honored by NAACP With Its Chairman’s Award

Downed trees cover the roadway toward South Jefferson Street from severe weather in downtown Tuscumbia, Ala., Sunday, Feb. 16, 2025.(Dan Busey/The TimesDaily via AP)
2 hours ago

‘Life-Threatening Cold’ Expected as Polar Vortex Stretches Across US

5 hours ago

Where to Chill on the Cheap in the Caribbean

6 hours ago

Should Builders Permit Their Own Projects? Post-fire LA Considers a Radical Idea

6 hours ago

I Was a Bad Father. How Do I Live With the Regret?

1 day ago

Royal Caribbean to Launch First-Ever San Diego Cruises in 2026

1 day ago

What Is Field Hockey? Fresno’s Sikh Community Explains

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend