The Israeli Knesset (Parliament) failed to hold a session of no confidence in the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, called for by Labor Party leader Merav Michaeli.
The failure of the session came after it was boycotted by members of the ruling coalition in Israel, as only 18 members approved the no-confidence proposal, and it required the approval of 61 (out of 120) in order for the proposal to be passed.
The Labor Party leader had submitted a motion of no confidence after Netanyahu refused to reach an agreement to release Israeli detainees in Gaza.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid also announced his rejection of the Labor Party leader’s call for a vote of no confidence, and stressed that the security conditions “do not allow for discussing political issues,” as he put it.
Lapid called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for dialogue in order to set a date for the elections, instead of what he described as political wrangling during the war.
He added during his meeting with members of his “There is a Future” party that the current government “is not qualified to manage the war or manage the economy, and that its composition is a danger to the future of Israel,” as he put it.
Lapid’s proposal
As Lapid said on the X platform, “I have a proposal to Netanyahu: Let us sit down, you and I, the prime minister and the opposition leader, and set a date for the elections.”
“After all, the elections will happen anyway, either through constructive no-confidence, or there will be a majority to dissolve the Knesset,” he added.
Lapid continued that the matter “will take another month or two,” but in the end “it will come. There are enough people in your (ruling) coalition who can no longer bear the matter,” as he put it.
Netanyahu has not yet issued any comment on Lapid’s call, but he said in a press conference a few days ago that it is not possible to hold elections in light of war.
Public opinion polls in Israel indicate a continued decline in the popularity of Netanyahu and his Likud party.
Pressure has increased inside and outside Israel on Netanyahu due to the way he managed the war on Gaza and his failure to achieve the goals he announced for it, as well as not concluding a deal to exchange prisoners and detainees with the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), amid accusations that he is seeking to prolong the war in order to remain in power for as long as possible.