Israeli lawmakers approved the dissolution of the Knesset on Thursday, paving the way for parliamentary elections, the fifth in three and a half years, set for November 1st.
After hours of delays, 92 out of 120 lawmakers voted in favor of dissolving parliament, a vote that would also allow Foreign Minister Yair Lapid to take over from Naftali Bennett on Friday.
After the coalition and the opposition failed to reach an agreement on the dissolution of the Knesset on Wednesday, a plenary session of the Knesset was held on Thursday morning to vote on the dissolution of parliament in the second and third readings.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced last night that he would not run in the next election and would remain acting prime minister in the transitional government led by Yair Lapid after the final dissolution of the Knesset.
“I am leaving a country that is prosperous, strong and secure,” he told reporters on Wednesday. “We have shown this year that people with very different ideas can work together,” he said, referring to his diverse ideological coalition.
Israel is moving towards holding its fifth election in less than four years, and has added to political uncertainty as it grapples with rising living costs.
Bennett dissolved parliament last week after an internal conflict that left her ruling coalition unable to govern. According to Reuters, Israel Radio Kahn reported that the final vote on the draft Knesset resolution, which was scheduled to take place at midnight on Wednesday, was postponed to Thursday due to numerous amendments.
These reforms have been proposed by various parties from the political spectrum. Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman said his party had blocked the bill, and the joint Arab-dominated list said it hoped the blockade would lead to the expiration of regulations extending legal protections to settlers in the West Bank.
Source: Lebanon Debate
