TEL AVIV: Ahead of the Knesset or Parliament's anticipated dissolution this week as a result of the collapse of the nation's precarious coalition government, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett convened what was probably his final cabinet meeting in that capacity.
In broadcast remarks late on Sunday, Bennett referred to a vote on Monday or Wednesday in which Parliament will almost probably vote to dissolve itself and said, "Soon, tragically, Israel will proceed into elections."
After their unstable coalition lost its majority two months ago, Bennett and his key coalition partner Yair Lapid made the decision to dismiss parliament. Lapid, the head of the centrist Yesh Atid party, will take office as interim prime minister when Parliament approves the measure, alternating with Bennett, until the new government is formed. The nation will probably hold its fifth general election in just three years in October.
In his speech on Sunday, Bennett, the head of the pro-settlement Yamina party, listed a number of accomplishments made by his coalition's year-long rule. The coalition consists of eight ideologically diverse parties, including Hawkish right-wingers, Dovish liberals, centrists, and an Arab party that made history by becoming a member of a ruling coalition in Israel for the first time.
"This was a great government that was supported by a convoluted alliance. There is a group of people who have demonstrated the ability to rise beyond ideological divides and work for the State of Israel" he said.
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