Tel Aviv: Israel has reached the polls for the fourth time in two years. The Israeli government collapsed on Tuesday after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government failed to meet the deadline to pass the budget. The proposal to extend the budget passage by two weeks failed by 49 votes against 47, as Netanyahu’s Likud Party and Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s Blue and White Party failed to agree.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partner, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, have blamed each other for the collapse of their seven-month-old government. Netanyahu said, “Blue and White withdrew from the pacts and we were dragged into unnecessary elections during the Corona crisis.”
He further said, “We do not want elections and we have voted against it, but we are not afraid of elections, because we will win!”
Gantz, while referring to the allegations of corruption on Netanyahu, said, “I am sorry that the Prime Minister is in favor of his case and not of public interest, and is ready to drag the entire country into an era of uncertainty rather than ensuring economic stability and rehabilitation of the economy.”
Since the formation of the government in May, there has been a deadlock between the two parties over the budget. To reach an agreement, Netanyahu and Gantz proposed extending Tuesday’s budget deadline for two weeks. But members of his own parties voted late Monday night to oppose the proposal.