Israel slides toward 4th election in two years

JERUSALEM－Israel's Knesset, or parliament, was dissolved on Wednesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fractured ruling coalition failed to pass a budget, triggering a fourth election in two years and renewing an unprecedented political crisis.

The coalition led by Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister, and his former election rival, Defense Minister Benny Gantz, had been inching toward collapse for weeks, undermined by mutual acrimony and mistrust.

The dissolution of parliament could see elections held as early as March 23, likely forcing Netanyahu to seek reelection while the coronavirus is still raging and as his long-awaited corruption trial intensifies.

The coalition headed by Netanyahu's right-wing Likud and Gantz's centrist Blue and White party had until midnight to pass a 2020 budget.

Failure to do so legally forces parliament's dissolution, Knesset spokesman Uri Michael said.

The deadline's expiration marks the end of a troubled political marriage between Netanyahu and Gantz, who faced off in three inconclusive elections in April and September in 2019 and again in March.

They agreed to form a so-called unity government in April.

Gantz has said he never trusted Netanyahu, but wanted to spare Israelis a fourth election, especially as the pandemic was gathering pace.

Needing stability

The three-year coalition deal had stipulated that Netanyahu served as premier for 18 months, with Gantz taking over in November 2021.

Gantz demanded the government pass a budget covering both 2020 and 2021, arguing Israel, and the coalition, needed stability.

But Netanyahu refused to endorse a 2021 budget.

That, his critics said, was a political tactic to keep the coalition unstable, making it easier for him to sink the government before he had to yield power to Gantz.

Both Netanyahu and Gantz face substantial political risks in new elections, especially if held in March.

A reelection would compel Netanyahu to campaign in February, when he is due to appear in court multiple times a week for his trial on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

He is accused of accepting improper gifts and seeking to trade favors with media moguls in exchange for positive coverage, but denies wrongdoing.

Netanyahu is expected to highlight recent achievements including a series of US-brokered normalization agreements with former Arab rival states.

Meanwhile, Gantz's political fortunes have plummeted.

Blue and White fractured when Gantz made the deal with Netanyahu and recent polls suggest the party would win only a handful of seats if elections were held soon.

Agencies - Xinhua