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Netanyahu says ‘unnecessary and wrong’ to call snap Israeli polls
JERUSALEM, Nov 18, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu said Sunday it would be “unnecessary and wrong” to call snap polls,
as he sought to hold his governing coalition together following the
resignation of his defence minister.
“In a period of security sensitivity, it’s unnecessary and wrong to go to
elections,” Netanyahu said at the start of a cabinet meeting.
He noted past instances when right-wing governments had called elections
that did not turn out as they had hoped.
“We need to do whatever we can to avoid such mistakes,” he said.
Netanyahu’s coalition was thrown into crisis Wednesday when Defence
Minister Avigdor Lieberman resigned over a controversial Gaza ceasefire deal,
sparking speculation over whether early elections were now inevitable.
After Lieberman’s withdrawal, Netanyahu’s government was left clinging to a
one-seat majority in the 120-seat parliament.
The veteran premier was to meet Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, whose
centre-right Kulanu party has 10 seats, later Sunday to discuss ways of
holding the coalition together.
Education Minister Naftali Bennett of the far-right Jewish Home party,
which holds eight seats in parliament, has demanded the defence portfolio,
but Netanyahu says he will take it over at least temporarily.
Bennett is one of Netanyahu’s main right-wing rivals.
On Saturday, Bennett told Israeli television that Lieberman had “collapsed
the government.”
“There is no more government and we are heading towards elections,” he
said. “There is no other alternative.”
Elections are not due until November 2019.
BSS/AFP/RY/1605 hrs