Benny Gantz is putting pressure on his partner in government the unity government, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The centrist party Bleu-Blanc "will vote tomorrow in favor of the dissolution of Parliament," said the leader of this formation, during a televised address Tuesday, December 1, on the eve of a preliminary vote on a motion of the opposition requesting the dissolution of the chamber.

Benny Gantz nevertheless called on Benjamin Netanyahu, to make "the budget vote by the government so that the citizens of Israel do not end up at the polls in March".

He thus urged the Prime Minister, whom he accused in particular of asserting his personal interest before that of Israel, to come to a compromise in order to adopt the budget for the year 2020, when the country has still no guideline for its public finances, and 2021. 

"The time is not for elections, but for unity," said Benjamin Netanyahu, a few minutes before Benny Gantz's speech, saying that the political class had to come together in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic which has including exploding unemployment in Israel.

Accusing the current unity government of being the "worst in the history of Israel" and of failing to manage the coronavirus crisis, opposition leader Yaïr Lapid has thus requested the holding of a vote Wednesday to dissolve the Knesset, the parliament.

Dissension

A dissolution of parliament would prompt new national elections to be held 90 days later, the fourth in less than two years, after three polls that placed the troops of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and ex-army chief Benny Gantz in the elbow to elbow.

After three votes that did not allow either of the two to rally a majority of deputies out of the 120 in the Knesset, they agreed in the spring to form a government of unity and crisis in the midst of the coronavirus period.

But in recent months, the local press has reported numerous dissensions between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz.

Wednesday's vote is a preliminary vote.

And a dissolution of the chamber requires that the opposition project be adopted at third reading.

According to political commentators, in passing this motion to dissolve the Knesset, Benny Gantz is not necessarily seeking to call an election but to put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu in order to re-establish the coalition.

Benny Gantz 4th in the polls

The latest polls credit Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud with first place, ahead of the radical right-wing Yamina (opposition) party of Naftali Bennett, the Yesh Atid Telem party of centrist Yaïr Lapid and the Bleu-Blanc formation of Benny Gantz.

In the last three ballots, these last two parties had joined forces in a coalition, but Benny Gantz had shattered this pact to join Benjamin Netanyahu and thus end the longest political crisis in the history of Israel.

The government agreement between Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz provides for a division of ministries and a rotation for the post of prime minister, which is due to fall to the former army chief in a year.

Fourth in the polls, and sure in a year of leading the government, Benny Gantz would not do well to call for new elections according to the Israeli press.

Apart from this opposition motion, if there is no consensus on the adoption of the budget by December 23, the Knesset will dissolve and new elections will be called in March 2021. 

With AFP

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