Opposition party will present bill to dissolve Israel’s government

The Knesset’s Yesh Atid party will present a bill at Wednesday’s plenary session to dissolve the current Israeli government. 

Israel’s Yesh Atid party, headed by former journalist and Minister of Finance Yair Lapid, is calling for the Knesset to be dissolved and for early elections.

“The decision was made against the backdrop of a worsening trend in recent months in which we see the Israeli government working only for itself, with its political disputes, and in effect dealing only with matters that are not important to Israel’s citizens,” the party said in a statement.

“There have been no substantive discussions in any government body over where the country is heading: Not in the economic, social, diplomatic or security realms. The citizens of Israel deserve more,” the statement read.

Yesh Atid, addressing what it perceived as mounting problems with the current government, made its announcement Sunday against the backdrop of a survey released by Israel’s Channel 2 on Friday, showing the party to be polling neck and neck with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud. According to the poll, both parties would win 25 Knesset seats if elections were held today.

Yesh Atid rose to fame in 2013 as it catered to the interests of Israelis seeking to “equalize the burden” of military service with ultra-Orthodox citizens as well as to help that sector integrate into the workforce. The party won 19 Knesset seats during parliamentary elections that year and was invited into the coalition. in which it led implementation of a number of reforms in that direction.

The party currently sits in the Opposition with 11 Knesset seats after losing eight during parliamentary elections in 2015. Many of the party’s reforms were overturned or postponed by the current coalition, which includes the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism and Shas parties.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News

Israeli electionsLikudUltra-OrthodoxYair LapidYesh Atid