Bibi, one more time? Israel’s election launches
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What triggers the current Knesset vote to dissolve Israel’s government?
The Economist.
Hello and welcome to the intelligence from the Economist. I'm Rosie Blore. Today on the show, will America keep supporting Africa's counter-terrorism efforts? And as the World Cup approaches, Cape Verde is competing for the first time. First up though
It would be an understatement to say that Binyamin Netanyahu, Israel's Prime Minister, is a political survivor. Though the collapse of Israel's government has repeatedly been predicted in the past couple of years, and many have wished for it, only now begins the campaign and the fight for Netanyahu's future.
Today the Knesset Digital's Parliament will begin voting on a dissolution bill.
And Shophefar is our Israel correspondent and the author of a biography of Binyam Netanyahu.
This may bring the election forward perhaps to the beginning of September. As it is, the election is supposed to take place at the latest by the end of October. So whatever the date turns out to be, it was already near the in election season. As so many Israeli elections over the last decade or so, this will also be yet again a referendum on Netanyahu as Prime Minister, so his career, his political future is on the line.
Just tell me what's triggered this vote now.
So the most immediate trigger of the vote is a dispute between Netanyahu and the ultra-orthodox parties of his coalition. He promised them four years ago that this government would pass a law exempting students of religious seminaries from national service, serving in the army mainly. He's failed to do that so far, and they've finally given up on waiting. And this also Alza may be the end of his very long and very strong alliance with those ultra Orthodox parties, though it's hard to see who they will link up instead of Netanyahu with if this is the end.
We've got a campaign coming. Gaza is obviously going to feature hugely. What impact do you think it will have?
As far as Israelis are concerned, Gaza still means one thing, and that's October 7, 23, the surprise attack by Hamas, the massacre of over 1200 Israelis on that day, and everything that led up to it, the failures of intelligence, the policy that Netanyahu had of basically allowing Hamas to entrench themselves in Gaza, those are still things that grow. greatly concern Israelis why it happened, how to prevent it from happening again. Natanyawa so far refused to even set up a national commission of inquiry and that is something that all the opposition parties are demanding. So I think that will almost certainly dominate a large part of the election campaign.
You say that Netanyahu has refused to set up a commission of inquiry. Essentially what I think you're saying there is that there has been no reckoning about what's happened in Gaza. There's been no proper discussion about the conduct of the war.
How will the Gaza war and the October 7 massacre shape Netanyahu’s election campaign?
You're talking here now about two things. You're talking here about what happened on October seventh and everything that led up. Before October seventh, then you're talking about the conduct of the war, which is everything that's happened in Gaza over the past two and a half years. And that's something that obviously the world is much more focused on. The fact that over seventy thousand people, the majority of whom were civilians, had been killed in Gaza, the destruction of much of the area, the fact that the population there were brought to the brink of starvation. And That I don't think we'll be very much in this election because Israelis are still so fixated on what happened on October 7th. And also because Israelis regard the war in Gaza.
And it doesn't matter whether these Israelis are pro-Netanyao or anti-Netanyao, overwhelmingly regard the war in Gaza as a war that Israel had to fight because of what happened, because of the Hamas attacks. The debate on how that war was conducted and all the bad things that That happened, the the destruction, the death in Gaza, I think is something which will play out in Israel for years to come and it needs both a d different government that is capable of starting this national reckoning.
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Chapters
7 chapters
1
What triggers the current Knesset vote to dissolve Israel’s government?
0:03–3:33
2
How will the Gaza war and the October 7 massacre shape Netanyahu’s election campaign?
3:33–6:55
3
Will Lebanon‑Hezbollah and Iran conflicts become decisive issues in the Israeli vote?
6:55–9:34
4
How do Netanyahu’s judicial‑reform agenda and coalition politics affect his re‑election chances?
9:34–12:31
5
What is Operation Flintlock and how does it illustrate U.S. support for Africa’s counter‑terrorism?
12:31–15:36
6
Has the two‑decade‑long Flintlock training program been effective against jihadist groups?
15:36–18:05
7
Why is Cape Verde’s first FIFA World Cup appearance a historic moment for the nation?
18:05–20:12