Bennett and Lapid agree to dissolve the Government of Israel

Jerusalem (CNN) — Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, along with his key coalition ally, Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, have agreed to introduce a bill to dissolve parliament, triggering a general election. by the end of the year. A brief statement from the Prime Minister’s Office said the move came “after attempts to stabilize the coalition had been exhausted.” A bill will be presented to parliament sometime next week, the statement added. If approved, Yair Lapid will take over from Naftali Bennett as prime minister, in line with the original coalition deal reached last year. Among other things, that would mean that Lapid would lead Israel for US President Joe Biden’s scheduled visit next month. The election would be the fifth in Israel in less than four years. The Bennett-Lapid government has been in power for just over a year, and was formed from a coalition of eight parties from across the political spectrum, including for the first time an Arab party, led by Mansour Abbas. However, in recent weeks several members of the coalition have left or threatened to leave, leaving the government without a majority in parliament to pass laws.