Israel Dissolves Parliament Amid Political Crisis, Yair Lapid To Be Caretaker PM
This will be Israel's fifth election in less than 4 years.
Naftali Bennet and Yair Lapid.
(Photo: Twitter/@ElAmerican_)
Lawmakers in Israel dissolved the Parliament on Thursday, 30 June, with Naftali Bennett stepping down as prime minister.
Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will become the caretaker PM until the next election, scheduled for 1 November.
This will be Israel's fifth election in less than 4 years.
The current coalition government announced on Monday, 20 June, that it will dissolve the Knesset.
The 120-member Knesset passed the initial bill for dissolution more than a week ago with a vote of 110-0.
"We have a country that needs running‚" Prime Minister Bennett had said in a televised joint statement with Foreign Minister Lapid.
The crisis started over a piece of legislation that would extend (renew) legal protections for Israeli settlers in the West Bank, occupied by Israel, according to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations, and the UN Security Council.
The dissolution of the Knesset means that West Bank law would be automatically renewed.
"What we need to do today is go back to the concept of Israeli unity. Not to let dark forces tear us apart from within," Lapid had said in his televised statement.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)