2018–2022 Israeli political crisis
Part of the politics of Israel
A water cannon (with blue-dyed water) being used against protesters during the anti-Netanyahu protests in July 2020
Date26 December 2018 – 29 December 2022
(4 years and 3 days)
LocationIsrael
TypePolitical crisis
CauseDifficulties in forming and retaining
a stable majority governing coalition
Outcome

The 2018–2022 Israeli political crisis was a period of political instability in Israel, in which five Knesset snap elections were held in a span of less than four years: in April 2019, September 2019, March 2020, March 2021 and November 2022.

In the early phase of the crisis, the popular phrasing of the core division within the parties and the public was "only Bibi" (nickname for Benjamin Netanyahu) or "only not Bibi". This stalemate was created due to the refusal of the liberal wing of the parliament to form a coalition with Netanyahu, while the Likud party – the prominent party of the conservative wing – refused to remove Netanyahu from the party's leadership. The rest of the conservative-wing parties refused to form a coalition without Netanyahu and the Likud. None of the wings were able to form a coalition by themselves, due to the tie-breaking parliament seats held by the Arab parties. Some parliament members from Jewish parties (both wings) and Arab parties had considered the possibility of governmental cooperation to be out of the question.

The first two elections of the crisis in April and September 2019 failed to produce a governing coalition, and the third election in March 2020 led to a unity government led by Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, before it was dissolved in December of that year, triggering a fourth election in March 2021. The 2021 election resulted in the thirty-sixth government of Israel, a diverse coalition of parties with various ideologies that was led by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid, but it was dissolved in June 2022. A fifth election in November of that year saw the victory of the right-wing bloc, returning Netanyahu to lead the thirty-seventh government of Israel.

Background

During the 20th Knesset, elected after the 2015 Israeli legislative election, Benjamin Netanyahu secured his fourth term in office as the head of the thirty-fourth government of Israel. On 26 May 2016, Yisrael Beiteinu joined the government, with 5 MKs, and Avigdor Lieberman was appointed Defense Minister in place of Moshe Ya'alon.

On 14 November 2018, Lieberman resigned from his position and from the coalition in protest at the government's approval of a ceasefire with Hamas after two days of clashes, thereby undermining the stability of the government.[1] On 26 December, the law to dissolve the Knesset was approved, and the election campaign for the twenty-first Knesset began.[2]

April 2019 election

The crisis began after the elections of April 2019 left no party able to form a government. The two major parties, Blue and White and Likud, received an equal number of 35 seats. The Likud received a mandate from the president to attempt to form a government, but Netanyahu failed to arrange a majority coalition of 61 seats. Netanyahu's Likud and their supporting parties voted to dissolve the Knesset instead of letting the president give the mandate to another Knesset member.[3]

September 2019 election

A second election was held in September 2019. This time, Blue and White overcame the Likud by a single seat. Nonetheless, the Likud received the mandate from the president, after gaining the support of one Knesset member more than Blue and White. Netanyahu, again, failed to form a government.[4] This time, the mandate passed to Benny Gantz, who also failed to achieve a majority.[5] The President passed the mandate to the Knesset members for 21 days.[6] After no other candidate was offered, the Knesset was dissolved.

March 2020 election

In March 2020, the third election was held. This time, Likud gained more seats than Blue and White, but Gantz achieved more recommendations from potential allies in the Knesset and received the mandate from the president. Gantz nevertheless was unable to unite enough allies into a coalition. His bloc was still agreed to replace the Speaker of the Knesset. Following this, the former Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein refused to convene the plenary to vote on his replacement. His refusal created a constitutional crisis. The Movement for Quality Government in Israel appealed to the Supreme Court, which ordered Edelstein to convene the Knesset. Following this Edelstein resigned.[7] Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel worsened, which precipitated negotiations for a national emergency government. On March 26, Gantz was sworn in as the new Knesset Speaker, with the support of the Likud party,[8] causing a split in Blue and White. On 20 April, the Likud and Blue and White agreed on an equal unity government, which included a "rotation agreement" between Gantz and Netanyahu on the prime minister's chair.[9] However, following a failed budgetary vote in December 2020, the government coalition collapsed, and a fourth election was called for 23 March 2021.[10]

March 2021 election

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin met with the heads of all political parties on 5 April 2021,[11] and charged Netanyahu with forming the government the next day.[12] Netanyahu had been given until the end of 4 May to form a government.[13] Netanyahu failed to form a new government by the deadline.[14] The next day, Rivlin entrusted Yair Lapid with the second mandate.[15] On 9 May, it was reported that Lapid and Naftali Bennett had made major headway in the coalition talks.[16][17] On 10 May, it was reported that plans were made to form a new government consisting of the current opposition, but that the Islamist Ra'am Party, which froze talks with both Lapid and Bennett in the wake of recent warfare in Gaza, still needed to pledge support for the Change bloc in order for the opposition MKs to secure a majority.[18][19] In late May, Lapid secured the support from Blue and White, Labor Party, Yisrael Beiteinu, New Hope, and Meretz, with Yamina and Ra'am possibly giving support.[20] On 30 May, Bennett announced in a televised address that Yamina would join a unity government with Lapid, after all but one Yamina MK agreed to back this decision.[21]

On 2 June 2021, following negotiations with Lapid and Bennett, Ra'am leader Mansour Abbas signed a document tethering his party to the coalition, and agreed to allow his party to join a non-Netanyahu government.[22][23] Just an hour before his 2 June mandate was set to expire, Lapid informed outgoing president Reuven Rivlin that he could form a new government.[24][25][26] On 11 June, Bennett's Yamina party became the last opposition faction to sign a coalition agreement with Lapid's Yesh Atid party, thus allowing the thirty-sixth government of Israel to be sworn in on 13 June, with Bennett becoming the Prime Minister and Lapid becoming the Alternate Prime Minister.[27][28] The 2021–2022 state budget was passed on 5 November under this government.[29]

On 6 April 2022, less than a year after the government was sworn in, MK Idit Silman of the Yamina party announced her withdrawal from the coalition, becoming the second of Yamina's seven elected MKs to join the opposition after Amichai Chikli, who had earlier voted against the government in its swearing.[30] Silman's move cost the coalition its majority. MK Ghaida Rinawie Zoabi of the Meretz party initially resigned on 19 May, but reversed course and rejoined the coalition on 22 May.[31][32] On 13 June, Nir Orbach left the coalition.[33] On 20 June 2022, Bennett and Lapid announced that they would begin the process of dissolving the Knesset, citing the various crises the coalition had faced since its formation.[34] The move thus led to a fifth election on 1 November.[35] Lapid served as interim Prime Minister in the run-up to the election.[36]

November 2022 election

The fifth election in November 2022 saw the national camp win a majority of seats in the Knesset, likely returning Netanyahu to the post of Prime Minister and thus ending the deadlock.[37] Increases in the number of MKs for Likud and the Religious Zionist Party was attributed to a lack of support for liberal wing and Arab parties, most notably the failure of Meretz to cross the electoral threshold to qualify for parliamentary representation.[38] Following a two-month negotiation period, on 21 December, Netanyahu announced that he had succeeded in forming the new coalition.[39] The thirty-seventh government of Israel was sworn in on 29 December.[40]

Some of the government's policy proposals, including a flagship program centered around reforms in the judicial branch, have drawn widespread domestic and international criticism, sparking waves of protests across the country.[41]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Israel Defence Minister Lieberman resigns over Gaza ceasefire". BBC News. 2018-11-14. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  2. ↑ "20th Knesset officially dissolves, sets elections for April 9, 2019". Times of Israel. 26 December 2018. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. ↑ Gil Hoffman; Lahav Harkov (30 May 2019). "Israel goes back to elections as Netanyahu fails to form coalition". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  4. ↑ Holmes, Oliver (21 October 2019). "Benjamin Netanyahu tells Israeli president he cannot form government". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 27 November 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2020 – via www.theguardian.com.
  5. ↑ Lis, Jonathan (22 October 2019). "Israeli President to Task Gantz With Forming Government on Wednesday". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Rivlin hands mandate to form government to Knesset, slams 'miserable political situation'". Ynetnews. 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
  7. ↑ Wootliff, Raoul. "In bombshell, Yuli Edelstein resigns to avoid calling vote on new speaker". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 17 July 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  8. ↑ Wootliff, Raoul. "Elected Knesset speaker by right wing, Gantz heads for government with Netanyahu". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
  9. ↑ Levinson, Chaim (20 April 2020). "Netanyahu, Gantz Sign Coalition Deal to Form Government". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 13 July 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
  10. ↑ Wootliff, Raoul. "Israel calls 4th election in 2 years as Netanyahu-Gantz coalition collapses". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
  11. ↑ "Netanyahu secures most nominations for PM; Rivlin to tap candidate Tuesday". The Times of Israel. 5 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  12. ↑ Gil Hoffman (6 April 2021). "Rivlin hands Netanyahu mandate to form coalition despite low chance of success". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  13. ↑ Lis, Jonathan (3 May 2021). "In Crunch Time, Right-wing Leader Bennett Says Netanyahu 'Doesn't Have a Government'". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  14. ↑ Lis, Jonathan; Khoury, Jack (4 May 2021). "As Netanyahu's Coalition Deadline Expires, Lapid Seen Likely to Get the Nod". Haaretz. Archived from the original on 5 May 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
  15. ↑ Hoffman, Gil (5 May 2021). "Lapid, Bennett hope to form government within a week". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  16. ↑ "Lapid, Bennett make major headway in coalition talks: reports". I24 News. 9 May 2021. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  17. ↑ Shlezinger, Yehuda (10 May 2021). "Report: Lapid, Bennett make major headway in coalition talks". Israel Hayom. Archived from the original on 10 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  18. ↑ Wootliff, Raoul; Schneider, Tal (9 May 2021). "'Change bloc' seeking to swear in new government as early as Tuesday". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  19. ↑ Fulbright, Alexander (10 May 2021). "Ra'am freezes coalition talks with 'change bloc', amid violence". Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  20. ↑ "Israel Election: Bennett Expected to Announce Coalition Deal With Lapid Within Days, Source Says". Haaretz. 29 May 2021. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
  21. ↑ "With his party's support, Bennett says he's heading into government with Lapid". The Times of Israel. 30 May 2021. Archived from the original on 30 May 2021. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  22. ↑ "Mansour Abbas signs coalition agreement to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu". The National. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 4 May 2022. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  23. ↑ Tov, Michael Hauser (June 2, 2021). "Lapid expected to The Tell President He Has Succeeded in Forming a Government". Haaretz. Archived from the original on June 3, 2021. Retrieved June 2, 2021.
  24. ↑ "Coalition deals signed". The Jerusalem Post. 2 June 2021. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  25. ↑ "Lapid, Bennett hope to form government within a week". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on 2021-05-05. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  26. ↑ "What happens now: A timetable of the process to (maybe) form a government". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2021-03-26. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  27. ↑ "Lapid finalizes coalition deals with all parties in incoming 'change government'". The Times of Israel. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 14 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  28. ↑ דרוקמן, ירון (2021-06-13). "ממשלת בנט-לפיד יוצאת לדרך: הכירו את כל השרים". Ynet (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  29. ↑ Kershner, Isabel (2021-11-04). "Israel Passes First Budget in More Than 3 Years in Lifeline for Government". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2021-11-05. Retrieved 2021-11-06.
  30. ↑ Ben Zion, Ilan (6 April 2022). "Israel government loses majority as religious lawmaker quits". AP News. Associated Press. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
  31. ↑ Keller-Lynn, Carrie; Boxerman, Aaron. "Meretz MK Rinawie Zoabi quits coalition, putting it in minority". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2022-11-01. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  32. ↑ "In reversal, Meretz MK to stay in coalition, removing immediate election threat". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2022-05-22. Retrieved 2022-05-22.
  33. ↑ "Yamina MK Nir Orbach quits coalition; PM admits it could collapse 'in a week or two'". The Times of Israel. 13 June 2022. Archived from the original on 1 November 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
  34. ↑ Keller-Lynn, Carrie. "Bennett announces coalition's collapse, elections: 'We did our utmost to continue'". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2022-09-28. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  35. ↑ Keller-Lynn, Carrie. "Knesset disbands, sets elections for November 1; Lapid to become PM at midnight". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2022-10-14. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
  36. ↑ Keller-Lynn, Carrie; Schneider, Tal. "Coalition heads announce vote to dissolve Knesset next week, Lapid to be interim PM". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2022-06-20. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
  37. ↑ "Israel's Netanyahu makes comeback as Israeli PM Lapid concedes defeat". NBC News. 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-11-05. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  38. ↑ Williams, Dan (2022-11-04). "Israeli PM Lapid congratulates Netanyahu on election win". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-11-04. Retrieved 2022-11-05.
  39. ↑ Keller-Lynn, Carrie. "'I've done it': Netanyahu announces his 6th government, Israel's most hardline ever". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on 2023-01-14. Retrieved 2022-12-22.
  40. ↑ Knell, Yollande; Gritten, David (29 December 2022). "Netanyahu's hard-line new government takes office in Israel". BBC. Archived from the original on 29 December 2022. Retrieved 29 December 2022.
  41. ↑ McKernan, Bethan (2023-03-27). "What are the Israeli protests about and what happens next?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 2023-03-27. Retrieved 2023-03-27.
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