Israel’s coalition government collapses. Here's why

After months of political turmoil, the government of Israel finally collapsed on Monday (June 20). With the dissolving of Parliament, Prime Minister Naftalli Bennett is likely to hand over power to existing Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, who will take over as interim PM until the next elections.

This will be the fifth election in Israel within a span of three years. 

This also brought curtains down on most ambitious political project of Israel that brought together 8 political parties ranging from far right, left and center, one which also had an independent Arab party as a member of Israel's coalition government.

HOW GOVERNMENT LOST MAJORITY IN PARLIAMENT

Two right-wing lawmakers from the coalition government defected, which brought down the majority of the coalition government to 59. The majority mark in 120-member Israeli Parliament is 61. Further, the non-cooperation of Arab legislators in passing key votes also made it impossible for the coalition to govern.

The final nail in the coffin was drilled last week when the government failed to muster votes to extend a two-tier legal system in the West Bank which separated Palestinians and Israeli settlers since Israel occupied the territory since 1967.

Several Arab members declined to vote for the passage of the bill raising their objections to it. This Prompted Naftalli Bennett, a former settler leader to collapse the government and thereby delay the final vote until another election.

WHY THE COALITION FAILED?

The eight-member coalition failed because of several reasons which included the heightened tensions in holy mosque of Jerusalem, the angst of Arab members, the weak coalition that depended on its members for passage of key bills. The fall of the government was inevitable.

Here are three reasons why it collapsed:

Defections: Two right wing lawmakers left the coalition saying that the government didn’t adequately represent Zionist and Jewish values. The defections of these lawmakers brought down the majority of the parliamentary coalition.

Unrest in Jerusalem: Firstly, the coalition was fragile because it had 8 parties from far right, left, center and Arab factions which had distinct views on subjects. For example, the violence between Muslims and police forces in holy mosque of Jerusalem left the Arab faction party grinning its teeth which further froze its participation in the government.

Rising violence: The spate of violence in the Israel, the wave of attacks on Palestinians which was also one of the deadliest in recent years raised questions on the ruling coalition. 

NETANYAHU EYES A COMEBACK

Former Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu, who had to step down from his post following corruption charges, is eying the PM post once again after the elections. The elections are most likely to happen in October 2022. 

In a video released on social media, Netanyahu celebrated the fall of coalition government of Israel. This evening is a wonderful news for the citizens of Israel. This government has ended its path.

The government that depended on terror supporters, which abandoned the personal security of the citizens of Israel, that raised the cost of living to unheard-of heights, that imposed unnecessary taxes, that endangered  our Jewish entity. This government is going home,” Netanyahu said, reported by The Washington Post.