Middle East & Africa | Once more unto the booths

Israel’s government collapses, prompting the fifth election in four years

An unlikely coalition implodes after a year. Political paralysis may resume

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) listens to Education Minister, Naftali Bennett, during the weekly cabinet meeting on August 30, 2016 at his office in Jerusalem. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / ABIR SULTAN (Photo credit should read ABIR SULTAN/AFP via Getty Images)
|Jerusalem


A WEEK AFTER their first anniversary in office, the two leaders of Israel’s unwieldy government announced jointly on June 20th that they had “exhausted all efforts to stabilise the coalition” and would be dissolving Israel’s parliament, the Knesset. Israel is heading for its fifth general election in less than four years.

This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Once more unto the booths”

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