TIMES.KY

Cayman Islands, Caribbeanand International News
Saturday, Apr 01, 2023

Israelis vote for parliament again, but strong coalition unlikely

Israelis vote for parliament again, but strong coalition unlikely

Voters are heading to the polls for the fifth time in three and a half years, but the country remains divided.

Israelis are back at the polls to vote in parliamentary elections for the fifth time in just three and a half years, with the race expected to be close between supporters of opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu and his opponents.

It is unlikely, however, that either side will be able to command a large majority in the 120-seat parliament, with pre-election polls predicting a tight race.

Voting started at 7am local time (05:00 GMT) on Tuesday and will carry on until 10pm, giving the nearly 6.8 million people who have the right to vote plenty of opportunity to cast their vote.

“Is it the fourth or the fifth or the sixth election – I can’t keep track,” Yochi Hadad-Klapholtz, a mother of three in Jerusalem, told Al Jazeera, highlighting the dysfunctional nature of Israeli politics in the past few years.

The elections are the result of the collapse of the previous government and the dissolution of parliament in June after defections from the governing coalition made former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s position untenable.




That coalition, currently led by Yair Lapid, was formed by an unlikely combination of parties with conflicting views on everything from state and religion to the Israeli occupation and Palestinian statehood, LGBTQ rights, and economic policies.

What has united them was their fierce opposition to Netanyahu, who had served as prime minister for 12 years and is on trial for alleged bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Netanyahu is keen to pass legislation that will prevent him from being tried.

In the previous election, held in March 2021, he midwifed a joint slate between two far-right Jewish politicians, which helped one of them, Itamar Ben Gvir, to get into the parliament, also known as the Knesset.

The other, Bezalel Smotrich, was already in parliament.

Smotrich has promised to legislate the removal of the offence of fraud and breach of trust from the criminal code if Netanyahu becomes prime minister.

He and Ben Gvir have also promised to strip the High Court of Justice of its ability to strike down unconstitutional laws. Ben Gvir plans to legislate a bill that would potentially expel Palestinian citizens of Israel not deemed “loyal” to the state.

Polls have suggested that Netanyahu’s far-right bloc may get 60 seats, with Lapid’s on 56.

The remaining four seats are expected to go to the Hadash-Ta’al Palestinian slate, which will only back Lapid if he agrees to certain conditions, including repealing the Jewish Nation-State Law, which enshrines Jewish supremacy over Palestinian citizens of Israel, and repealing the Kaminitz Law, which severely penalises Palestinian citizens of Israel for unauthorised construction and increases home demolitions.

In what might be a gesture towards the Hadash-Ta’al faction, Lapid said last week he intends to amend the contentious Jewish Nation-State Law.

Israel’s electoral system is based on nation-wide proportional representation, and the number of seatrs every list receives in the Knesset is proportional to the number of people who voted for it.

The only limitation is the qualifying threshold of 3.25 percent of the total votes, the equivalent of four seats.

Three of the parties opposing Netanyahu, the Zionist left-wing Meretz party, the conservative Islamic Ra’am party and Hadash-Ta’al, may struggle to pass the threshold, leaving Lapid with no hope of forming a government.

Newsletter

Related Articles

TIMES.KY
Close
0:00
0:00
Don’t Dismiss China’s Peacemaking Bid
China and Brazil have signed a new deal that will allow them to trade in their own currencies, bypassing the US dollar as an intermediary
Elon Musk and Others Call for Pause on A.I., Citing ‘Profound Risks to Society’
Nashville style execution
“We've had evidence prior to the pandemic that masks were largely ineffective at preventing community transmission of influenza “
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz:
Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz rejects being labeled a "billionaire"
Jamie Dimon is being deposed over JPMorgan Chase role in Epstein lawsuits
Brand new security footage has just been released to the public showing the Active shooter Audrey Elizabeth Hale drove to Covenant Church School in her Honda Fit this morning, parked, and shot her way into the building
AMERICA, 2023
U.S. charges FTX's Bankman-Fried with paying $40 million bribe
Fallen 'Crypto King' Who Owes Millions to Investors Was Kidnapped and Tortured
Regulators blame social media for SVB's rapid collapse: 'Complete game changer'
AOC explains why she opposes banning TikTok
UK: Humza Yousaf replaces Nicola Sturgeon as SNP leader and first minister in Scotland
In a dramatic U-turn against His Government: Judicial Reform Legislation Must Be Halted, Says Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant
Gordon Moore, a co-founder of Intel Corporation, died at 94
Powell: Silicon Valley Bank was an 'outlier'
Donald Trump arrested – Twitter goes wild with doctored pictures
NYPD is setting up barricades outside Manhattan Criminal Court ahead of Trump arrest.
Credit Suisse's Scandalous History Resulted in an Obvious Collapse - It's time for regulators who fail to do their job to be held accountable and serve as an example by being behind bars.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman tours potential migrant housing in Rwanda as asylum deal remains mired in legal challenges
Paris Rioting vs Macron anti democratic law
'Sexual Fantasy' Assignment At US School Outrages Parents
Credit Suisse to borrow $54 billion from Swiss central bank
Russian Hackers Preparing New Cyber Assault Against Ukraine
Jeremy Hunt insists his Budget will get young parents and over-50s back into work
If this was in Tehran, Moscow or Hong Kong
TRUMP: "Standing before you today, I am the only candidate who can make this promise: I will prevent World War III."
Mexican President Claims Mexico is Safer than the U.S.
A brief banking situation report
Lady bites police officer and gets instantly reaction
We are witnessing widespread bank fails and the president just gave a 5 min speech then walked off camera.
Donald Trump's asked by Tucker Carlson question on if the U.S. should support regime change in Russia?.
Silicon Valley Bank exec was Lehman Brothers CFO
In a potential last-ditch effort, HSBC is considering a rescue deal to save Silicon Valley Bank UK from insolvency
BBC Director General, Tim Davie, has apologized, but not resigned, yet, following the disruption of sports programmes over the weekend
Elon Musk Is Planning To Build A Town In Texas For His Employees
The Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse effect is spreading around the world, affecting startup companies across the globe
City officials in Berlin announced on Thursday that all swimmers at public pools will soon be allowed to swim topless
Fitness scam
Market Chaos as USDC Loses Peg to USD after $3.3 Billion Reserves Held by Silicon Valley Bank Closed.
Senator Tom Cotton: If the Mexican Government Won’t Stop Cartels from Killing Americans, Then U.S. Government Should
Banking regulators close SVB, the largest bank failure since the financial crisis
The unelected UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, an immigrant himself, defends new controversial crackdown on illegal migration
Man’s penis amputated by mistake after he’s wrongly diagnosed with a tumour
In a major snub to Downing Street's Silicon Valley dreams, UK chip giant Arm has dealt a serious blow to the government's economic strategy by opting for a US listing
It's the question on everyone's lips: could a four-day workweek be the future of employment?
Is Gold the Ultimate Safe Haven Asset in Times of Uncertainty?
Spain officials quit over trains that were too wide for tunnels...
×