Israel to gear up for fifth election in three years; Netanyahu begins efforts to return to power

TEL AVIV: Israeli lawmakers on Thursday unanimously voted to dissolve the parliament, after Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's coalition government lost its majority in the parliament, triggering an unprecedented fifth election in less than four years. Yair Lapid, the foreign minister, would take over as interim prime minister of the country.

According to reports, the move follows the defection of two coalition lawmakers, giving the opposition a majority in Parliament.

The decision throws a political lifeline to Benjamin Netanyahu, the former prime minister who left office last June upon the formation of the current government, and whose party is currently leading in the polls.

It follows weeks of paralysis caused by the defection of two right-wing government lawmakers and frequent rebellions by three others, removing the coalition's majority in Parliament and making it hard to govern.

Expected to be held in the fall, the election will be Israel's fifth since April 2019. It comes at an already tense time for the country, after a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis put pressure on the government, and amid an escalation in a shadow war between Israel and Iran.