Israel will likely either have new elections or a new prime minister

(Image credit: ARIEL SCHALIT/AFP/Getty Images)

published 29 May 2019

With just hours to go before a set deadline, it's looking less and less likely Israel will form a new government. That means Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will either be replaced or, if he gets his way, Israel will head toward new elections in September.

Netanyahu, who faces a possible indictment on corruption charges, was recently re-elected to the post after tightly contested elections in April, but he has struggled to form a coalition government. The prime minister reportedly needs Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties to reach an agreement with ex-defense minister Avigdor Lieberman, a secular right-winger, over a military draft bill, which would increase the number of ultra-orthodox Jewish men conscripted into the army. The impasse has held up the formation of a coalition, and Haaretz reports both sides rejected Netanyahu's last-ditch effort to forge a deal, which means — barring a truly last-minute change of opinion — the government will not to come fruition.

Normally, Netanyahu's failure to form a government would allow Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin, to select a different lawmaker to complete the task. But Netanyahu introduced a new bill to prevent that from happening. Instead, the law would dissolve the Knesset — Israel's national legislature — and eventually lead to new elections. Lawmakers have begun debating the bill with a vote expected to occur shortly.

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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.

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