Photo Credit: Flash 90
Naftali Bennett and Prime Minister Netanyahu.

By Yoni Ariel/TPS

Bayit Yehudi leader Naftali Bennett has said that if Netanyahu is forced to resign as a result of his mounting legal problems, he will opt for going to the polls.

Advertisement




This effectively ends any option of the Likud forming a new government if Netanyahu resigns.

Under Israeli law, if the PM resigns, it is as if the entire government has resigned. The ruling party has the right to appoint a new leader, and if he can prove he can form a viable government that will obtain the Knesset’s confidence, the President will grant a mandate to form a new government.

This previously happened in 1983. Begin resigned, and Shamir formed a new government.

Since the Likud cannot form a new government without Bayit Yehudi, unless it is willing to radically change its policies and form a coalition with Zionist Camp and Yesh Atid (such a government would have a safe majority), if Netanyahu is forced to quit, the result will be early elections.

This puts Attorney-General Avichai Mandelblit in an unenviable position, as Bennett is handing him the hot potato of determining if the country will be holding early elections.

Advertisement

SHARE
Previous articleA Hebrew in the Heartland -Kenya, Jordan, and Video Activism [audio]
Next articleShooting on Road Near Karnei Shomron
TPS - The Tazpit News Agency provides news from Israel.