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Israelis to return to polls on March 23 after Knesset dissolved

Thursday, 24 December 2020 2:08 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 24 December 2020 2:12 AM ]

Mona Kandil

Press TV, Ramallah

The Knesset, the Israeli parliament, dissolved itself and the unity cabinet collapsed, pushing the Israelis into yet another early election on March 23 that would be the fourth in two years.

The Knesset dispersed after failing to meet the legal deadline for approving a budget for 2020. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the conservative Likud party had refused to present a budget, in violation of his coalition agreement with his main rival-turned-partner, Benny Gantz of the centrist Blue and White party.

Experts however say the dissolving of the Knesset would have been more advantageous for Netanyahu, it’s not only a deep distrust between Netanyahu and Gantz, Netanyahu was gambling on another election in the hope of forming a right-wing, religious cabinet that would grant him some kind of immunity from prosecution. Netanyahu’s corruption trial is scheduled to move into an intensive, evidentiary stage in early 2021, requiring his regular presence in court.

The current cabinet will remain in place in a caretaker capacity until after the election and the formation of a new cabinet is a process that could take many months; however, the Israelis are convinced that there isn't any guarantee that the fourth election would finally end Israel’s internal dogged stalemate.

According to observes, Netanyahu has triggered early elections in an attempt to stay in power beyond his current term, however they add that Netanyahu's fight for reelection is a difficult battle, mainly as his corruption trial is scheduled to resume with witness testimony next February.

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