Israeli elections seem likely after Lieberman's resignation

Aron Heller, Associated Press

Updated

1:57 am PST, Thursday, November 15, 2018

JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel 's defense minister is officially resigned on Thursday, leaving the government with the narrowest of parliamentary majorities and paving the way.

Avigdor Lieberman dispatched to Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, informing him of his decision to step down. The move, which takes effect in 48 hours, leaves Netanyahu with the support of just 61 out of 120 lawmakers.

With other coalition partners also flexing their muscles and the opposition parties demanding an early election, the days of Netanyahu's current government seem to be numbered.

Lieberman's abrupt resignation came in protest at Gaza militants that ended two days of intense fighting. The hard-liner had asked for a hasty Israeli response to the widest wave of Gaza rocket fire against Israel in a 50-day war in 2014, but was overruled by Netanyahu.

In his live TV announcement on Wednesday, Lieberman lashed out the government's weaknesses and termed the cease-fire "surrender to terrorism."

The move immediately set off furious political jockeying, with insiders predicting it marked the opening of a new political campaign.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for a year from now. The last time that happened in 1988. Since then, elections have almost always been moved up because of a coalition crisis or a strategic move by the prime minister to maximize his chances of re-election.

Netanyahu's fiercest coalition rival, Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the pro-settler Jewish Home Party, was the first to pounce, threatening to leave the coalition too dead in Lieberman's place. That, however, appeared to be a bad deal between the two and the overall shaky nature of such a slim coalition.

The government also faces a looming Supreme Court-dictated deadline to pass a contentious new law mandating the military draft of ultra-Orthodox men. Lieberman bolted.

"Any date between March and May 2019 seems logical," wrote Ben Caspit columnist in the Maariv daily. "The Netanyahu government is stumbling towards its end."

With such uncertainty, the major players are already

"This government has failed to establish its presence," Bennett's party colleague, Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, told Israel's Army Radio. "Bennett could be a big help to the prime minister as defense minister."

Netanyahu has been reportedly flirting with the idea of ​​moving up elections himself, but the current timing is not ideal for him. He has made his life under the rule of law, especially in the context of working class, rocket-battered towns in southern Israel, which is typically strongholds of his ruling Likud Party.

A polled Wednesday on Israel's top-rated newscast news after Lieberman's resignation showed 74 percent of Israelis to be displaced with Netanyahu's handling of the recent Gaza crisis.

Netanyahu still appeared to have some competition for the post of prime minister, though support for his Likud party dipped compared to previous polls. If elections are held today, then they are followed by the centrist Yesh Atid party at 18 and Labor at 11.

The midgam poll surveyed 500 Israelis and had a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

Netanyahu is also vulnerable to a potential corruption that could not be ignored.

Have already been questioned by Netanyahu in the future and he has been indicted on bribery and breach of trust charges in two cases. The first course of action in the case of a billionaires and the second one for allegedly discussing a major newspaper in exchange for positive media coverage. Netanyahu has been grilled about a corruption case involving Israel's telecom giant.

Israel's Attorney General, Avichai Mandelblit, is expected to make a decision on charges in the coming months.

Netanyahu has angrily rejected the accusations against him as part of a media-orchestrated witch-hunt that is obsessed with removing him from office.