TIMES OF ISRAEL
Readying to leave office, Bennett says at IDF ceremony: ‘I did the best I could’
June 24, 2022

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, speaking Thursday at what will likely be his last military ceremony as premier, said he did his best for the country while in office. “I did the best I could for the people of Israel, for my beloved people,” Bennett said at a graduation ceremony for Israel Defense Forces pilots at Hatzerim airbase in southern Israel. On Monday, Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid announced that they would disband the Knesset and send Israel back to its fifth election in three and a half years. Bennett and Lapid said they had “exhausted” avenues to stabilize their rocky minority coalition. READ MORE

ISRAEL HAYOM Stranger things: The Knesset’s behavior is utterly irrational The Opposition, which worked, hoped, expected, and fought for an early election, is now doing everything in its power to avoid it from happening. The coalition, which did all it could to establish a government and prevent an early election, is now rushing to the voting stations.

JTA A 5th Israeli election in 3 years? Here’s how we got here and what happens next Why are Bennett and Lapid calling for new elections? The short answer: they have lost their parliamentary majority after multiple politicians defected from their coalition. The government, formed almost exactly a year ago, had a shaky foundation from its start, combining a slew of parties that historically would have not worked together…

JNS Arlene Kushner: The collapse of the current Israeli government is only the first step Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who is celebrating the imminent demise of the current government, would have us believe that he is the leader who can set things right (double entendre intended). But this is also spin…While he would have us believe that he is right-wing, he is in fact a centrist who tilts right.