Show an ad over header. AMP

Israel's government collapses, with yet another election due in March

22 December 2020
Dan Ackermann

Israel’s power-sharing government collapsed on Tuesday, only seven months after it was formed, putting Israel on course for its fourth elections in two years.

Why it matters: The government was formed by two rivals — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Minister of Defense Benny Gantz — to end a political stalemate, but it was totally dysfunctional. Its collapse means Gantz will not rotate in as prime minister next November, as the two had agreed in their coalition deal.

Behind the scenes: With the deadline to pass a budget looming, Netanyahu and Gantz held secret negotiations over the past two weeks in an attempt to reach a deal.

  • Gantz insisted that Netanyahu must agree to pass a budget for 2021 and legally lock in the rotation deal.
  • In return, Netanyahu demanded that Gantz strip many powers from Justice Minister Avi Nissenkorn, a member of Gantz's party who turned into a bitter foe of Netanyahu's.
  • Under the proposed deal, Netanyahu — who is on trial for corruption — would have significant influence over the appointments of the attorney general, state prosecutor and supreme court judges. All of those roles are very relevant to his legal situation. 

How it happened: Gantz was prepared to accept many of Netanyahu's demands, but he faced a rebellion in his party once the proposal was exposed in the press. Nissenkorn even threatened to split the party if Gantz took the deal. 

  • The proposal also infuriated Gantz's political base. He faced mass protests outside of his home and abuse on social media.
  • Those protests were further inflamed when it was revealed that the man negotiating on Gantz's behalf was Haim Ramon, a former government minister with a sexual misconduct conviction and a reputation as a vocal Netanyahu defender
  • Under pressure, Gantz backed away from the deal and denied that he was ever going to allow Netanyahu to have any influence on the legal system.

Yes, but: Until Monday night, he was still trying to pass a law that will buy more time for negotiations with Netanyahu. 

  • When that law came up for a vote, several members of Gantz's party joined the opposition in voting against the bill and in favor of early elections.
  • On Tuesday at midnight local time (5pm ET) the budget deadline passed and the Knesset was dissolved.

The big picture: The government collapse comes amid a dramatic deterioration in Gantz’s political standing and a decline in Netanyahu’s favorability. It also follows the establishment of a new right-wing party headed by a Netanyahu critic, Gideon Saar, which could change Israel’s political map.

What’s next: The elections will take place on Mar. 23.

  • The latest polls show Gantz's party barely above the electoral threshold, with five seats. If that trend continues Gantz might drop out of the race. 
  • Netanyahu will try to regain public support by focusing his campaign on the COVID-19 vaccine, Israel's recent normalization agreements with the Arab world, and his opposition to any new deal with Iran. 
  • Saar is the political star of the moment. He will try to establish himself as the only alternative to Netanyahu in hopes of rallying a broad swathe of voters who want to see Netanyahu removed from office.

Go deeper:

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

Section2

Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.