Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will not attempt to harness Israeli successes in Operation Rising Lion against Iran by calling for an election in the near future, a senior minister told The Jerusalem Post. The comment came in the wake of a report by Channel 12’s Dafna Liel that the prime minister’s office was considering calling for a snap election in order to take advantage of the successes in Iran for electoral gain.
According to the minister, Liel’s report and other similar rumors were intended to signal to the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) parties that the prime minister was not afraid of an election, should they attempt to threaten one in order to gain concessions on the haredi exemption from IDF service. However, there was no concrete intention to head to an election in the near future, the minister said.
Popular figures in Israeli politics
In a Channel 12 poll published on Tuesday, the Likud received 26 mandates, four more than in an identical poll conducted before Operation Rising Lion. However, only one of these mandates came at the expense of the opposition, while three others came at the expense of Otzma Yehudit. The poll showed, therefore, that the two blocs had largely remained the same – the current Zionist opposition parties, along with a party led by former prime minister Naftali Bennett, would win 61 seats, compared to 49 for the current coalition and 10 seats for the two Israeli-Arab parties.
A later poll published by Walla on Wednesday had similar results, with the Zionist opposition bloc including Bennett receiving 62 seats, the coalition receiving 48, and the Arab parties 10.
The Democrats party placed a new bill proposal to disperse the Knesset on the Knesset floor on Wednesday. However, according to Knesset protocol, a bill that fails cannot be proposed again for six months. A similar bill was struck down on June 12 after a tentative agreement was reached with the haredi parties over the terms of their IDF service.
Therefore, the Democrats’ bill’s progression is contingent on permission by Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana, which is highly unlikely, according to a spokesperson for one of the party’s MKs.