Description:
Translation of a video report by Al Mayadeen TV on Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett quitting politics and the dissolution of the Parliament (Knesset), following weeks of political chaos and infighting.
New parliamentary elections are set to be held later this year, making them the fifth parliamentary elections in less than four years.
Source: Al-Mayadeen Channel (YouTube)
Date: June 3, 2022
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Transcript:
Reporter:
Weeks of quarrelling and chaos in the Israeli political arena culminated in the official dissolution of the Knesset.
This after the Knesset entered a state of practical paralysis, accompanied by executive paralysis within the fragile government coalition, due to a fierce war waged by the opposition (party) led by Benjamin Netanyahu from one side, and a state of instability and lack of internal cohesion within the (ruling) coalition itself on the other.
About a year and a month after the formation of the Bennett-Lapid government, the 24th Knesset ended as a result of the vote to dissolve it…with the support of 92 Knesset members.
The decision to hold new parliamentary elections – which will be the fifth within less than 4 years – was taken after a marathon run of debates. The elections were set to take place on November 1st, 2022.
This development came following Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s statement that he will be taking a break from political life and will not be running in the upcoming elections, in parallel with relinquishing his position in Yamina party to the second person within the party, Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked.
Bennett’s temporary withdrawal comes about one year after he assumed the position of prime minister and 12 years after entering political life.
Right after the Knesset was dissolved, the head of ‘There is a Future’ party, Yair Lapid, took over the prime ministership of a transitional government from his predecessor Bennett, under a coalition power agreement between them. A brief ceremony was held, during which Bennett reviewed major security and political issues before Lapid.
On the other side, Benjamin Netanyahu, leader of the opposition party, began his election campaign with a strongly-worded attack from the podium of the Knesset against the Bennett-Lapid government, and blamed it for the increase in prices and the high cost of living, pledging to form a government headed by him that would bring the country back on its right track – as he put, a pledge that recent opinion polls said cannot be fulfilled.
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