The Knesset voted before dawn Tuesday morning to back legislation dissolving the 24th Knesset and sending Israel to new elections.

The bills, voted on concurrently, were backed by 50 MKs, with no dissentions.

Lawmakers are scheduled to hold the final vote in the Knesset plenum by Wednesday night.

The vote was held early Tuesday morning after Coalition and Opposition lawmakers reached an agreement on state funding for political campaigns during the upcoming election, increasing the funding per Member of Knesset from 1.4 million shekels to 1.66 million, amounting to a total of extra 30 million shekels for campaign funds, raising to total to 200 million shekels.

Late Monday night, the two sides agreed to pass the dissolution bills by midnight between Wednesday and Thursday, following an extended period of time wrangling over when the elections would take place and argued over procedural issues.

The Coalition and Opposition parties have narrowed the possible election dates down to October 25 and November 1.

The sides also agreed that a proposal to ban an individual under indictment from becoming prime minister, a measure aimed at barring Opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from forming a new government, will not be put to a vote during the current session.

Source: https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/355641

The post Bill dissolving the Knesset passes first reading first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Israel is plagued by an electoral system that gives disproportionate influence to small parties, which usually are needed to get to the minimum threshold of 61 Knesset members to form a government. Perhaps it wouldn’t be so unfortunate if Israel didn’t have to deal with aggression by Iran and its proxy, Hamas. As Anna Ahronheim writes in the Jerusalem Post, “Israel cannot have both security and political instability. Israel’s enemies, be it in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, or the West Bank, are wide awake looking for an opportunity to strike.”

Israel’s behind-the-scenes wars with Iran in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq, and with Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank, are off the radar for most Americans. In the north, Israel has been conducting the “War Between the Wars” to thwart Iranian entrenchment in Syria, stop the transfer of game-changing, precision-guided weapons and drones, and target Iranian-supported missile and drone factories. These operations potentially could spin out of control with a miscalculation, causing regional instability that affects American security interests.

With the resurgence of Hamas-instigated terror operations in the West Bank, Israel has been preemptively conducting its “Break the Wave” operation to counter terrorist activity. But Hamas may see this time of Israeli political uncertainty as an opportunity to increase its attacks.

The political chaos is unfolding as President Biden plans to visit Israel in July. A few days ago, he thought he would be meeting with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, but now he likely will be meeting with foreign minister Yair Lapid as Bennett’s replacement. There is even a possibility that Defense Minister Benny Gantz could defect from the current coalition, swallow hard and rejoin former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with whom he had a falling out, in a new government to avoid elections. Biden has said that his mid-July trip to Saudi Arabia and Israel will be an attempt to bring “more stability and peace to the Middle East.”

Bennett comes from the Israeli right and Lapid from the center-left. The expectation is that Lapid may be more accepting of the Biden administration’s requests regarding the Palestinian Authority, the “two states for two peoples” solution, limiting settlement expansion, and America’s desire to reopen a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem. However, the Israeli electorate has leaned right since the Second Intifada, which began in September 2000, and likely would see such concessions as a betrayal. Most Israelis view the Palestinian Authority as a corrupt, unreliable partner, with a history of fomenting anti-Semitic ideology in textbooks, mosques and media. If Lapid makes concessions, he could be savaged by Israeli media and political opponents.

The good news is that Israel’s military and security apparatus is apolitical and has decades of experience coordinating its tactical operations with the United States, even when its government has interim leadership. However, on a more significant geostrategic level, it is hard to make major decisions when you are a temporary prime minister. Israel’s moderate allies — the Gulf states, Egypt and Jordan — who are developing an American-initiated defense plan with Israel in response to Iran’s escalation, most assuredly would feel better if Israel’s political system were more stable.

The messy Israeli democracy is hard for authoritarians to understand. To advance American policy interests, we need the Arab nations to deepen their relationships with Israel — as some have done with the Abraham Accords — as a counterweight to Iranian expansionism.

As Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel, points out, U.S. officials “are used to conducting relations with Israel during political crises and election campaigns. The main principle is: Don’t interfere while Israel’s domestic political processes play out. Most normal business, particularly in security cooperation, can continue. While a minority government in Israel is fully empowered, in the case of elections, there may be some decisions a transition government in Israel cannot make.”

The Biden administration reportedly is still trying to salvage an Iran nuclear deal — a reworking of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) forged under President Obama — and is keeping Israel abreast of the negotiations. However, Lapid’s political weakness may force him to take a tougher line with the U.S. Iran, as an enemy to the U.S., Israel and the West in general, seems in no hurry to rejoin the deal now, while U.S. sanctions against it are not fully enforced and the Iranian economy can stay afloat by selling oil to China — though competition with Russian oil exports recently has stepped up.

Without secondary sanctions levied against China, Iran can continue to play hardball and undermine U.S. regional interests. Iran interpreted the U.S. not fully enforcing its sanctions not as a conciliatory gesture but as American weakness to be exploited. Expect Lapid or any Israeli prime minister to ask the U.S. to increase sanctions if Iran continues to develop its nuclear weapons program.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently sanctioned Iran because it refuses to explain uranium found in undeclared nuclear sites, and Iran has removed cameras that were monitoring its nuclear facilities. If Iran reneges on its nuclear program commitments, only snap-back sanctions, as promised in the JCPOA, could possibly pressure Iran to change its behavior. Iran knows that America has no credible military threat, making the Iranians more stubborn in negotiations.

There is broad support across the Israeli political spectrum for confronting Iran if it crosses the nuclear threshold — and it will be challenging for the Biden administration if Israel moves towards a significant military response.

American interests are also affected by Israel’s new confrontation with Russia in Syria. Until recently, Israel coordinated its air campaign against Iranian interests in Syria with Russia to avoid any Israeli-Russian conflict. Russia was working with Israel because it was in Russia’s interest to suppress Iranian entrenchment in Syria, since that could threaten Syrian stability. Last week, however, Israel bombed the Damascus Airport where Iran was transiting weapons, infuriating Russia. Taken to the worst extreme, this could escalate to an Israeli attack on Russian anti-missile systems if they were to be used against Israel, setting the region on fire. And with America’s plate full with the Russia-Ukraine war, the last thing Washington needs is a kinetic conflict between its primary ally in the Middle East and the Russian bear.

The U.S.-Israel relationship will survive this political melodrama; the two democracies have navigated through similar challenges before and continued to coordinate their joint security approach to the region. But the situation is not ideal, by far — especially if an interim Israeli prime minister must make a significant decision that affects American national security interests in the coming months.

Dr. Eric R. Mandel is the director of MEPIN, the Middle East Political Information Network. He regularly briefs members of Congress and their foreign policy aides. He is the senior security editor for the Jerusalem Report. Follow him on Twitter @MepinOrg.

Source: https://thehill.com/opinion/international/3532125-israels-government-collapses-again-so-what-now/

The post Israel’s government collapses — again. So, what now? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the swearing-in ceremony of the 22nd Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 3, 2019. (photo credit: RONEN ZVULUN/REUTERS)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rarely speaks of the very real need for security and stability in Israel. Following that nation’s recent election, he warned: “One thing is clear, the State of Israel is at a historic turning point. We are facing immense opportunities, and immense challenges, including the existential threat from Iran.”

Adding to Israel’s safety issue is what has become a more dangerous and antagonistic Iran. The country of mullahs and ayatollahs has sanctioned attacks on international vessels in the Persian Gulf, the shooting down of American drones outside Iran’s air space, and a blatant assault on Saudi Arabia’s oil services. The lack of any condemnation from international sources is appalling. This includes the United States, which has not responded decisively either.

The US has come across in recent months as unwilling to confront Iran.

Israel’s political and legal drama could induce the Iranians to launch an attack against unmanned aerial drones (UAVs). Netanyahu is certainly aware of Iran’s desire to obliterate his beloved home country. He wishes to equip the Israel Defense Forces with adequate, though expensive, military equipment to forestall a foray by Iran. He has intimated that a security breach could occur at any time, and could force Israeli politicians to form a viable government.

After the recent Knesset induction ceremony, Netanyahu stated that an immense issue is facing Israel. He warned, “We are facing a huge security challenge that has been growing from week to week, in the last two months and especially in recent weeks – it’s not a spin or a whim, anyone who knows the details knows how true they are… Iran is getting tighter, its boldness and impudence are increasing, it is attacking international shipping routes, attacking all places and directly attacking US aircraft and now Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, and it says most clearly – Israel will disappear. It’s a quote and not a theory.”

If Iran attempts a similar, but more massive mission launched from Iraq, as was the one launched into Saudi Arabia, it is possible that strategic targets in Israel could be hit. Such an attempt on Israel would be even more devastating if Hezbollah were to, at the same time, fire its 150,000 missiles from Lebanon into northern Israel.

Netanyahu is not alone in his concerns for the country while the various parties try to form a unity government. At the induction of the 22nd Knesset, Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin was quoted as saying, “We are facing a time of crisis for the House of Jacob. An emergency for Israel’s security and for Israeli society, an emergency for Israeli democracy: all that is dear to us…” Forming a government is not only the wish of the people,” the president said. “More than ever, in times like these, it is an economic and security need, the likes of which we have not known for many years.”

Source: https://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Israels-urgent-need-Stable-government-604469

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