Israel's fragile government falls, teeing up new prime minister, 5th election in 3 years

Naftali Bennett, Yair Lapid
(Image credit: Oren Ben Hakoon/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel's diverse eight-party governing coalition will dissolve parliament before July, setting up another round of elections in the fall, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Monday night. Bennett and Yair Lapid, the head of the centrist Yesh Atid party and current foreign minister, cobbled together an unlikely coalition of parties across the ideological spectrum a year ago to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's longest-serving prime minister. The new election, Israel's fifth in three years, will most likely take place in October.

As soon as the Knesset, or parliament, votes to dissolve the government, Lapid will take over as interim prime minister and serve until the election. Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party is the favorite to win the most seats in the Knesset, but polls suggest it could fall a few seats short of a majority. Netanyahu, who is on trial on corruption charges, cheered the collapse of the Bennett-rapid government and predicted he will return to power.

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Peter Weber, The Week US

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.