The collapse of Israel’s coalition government has triggered another period of political volatility that could again result in either a weak government or a new cycle of inconclusive elections. This could see more policy gridlock and social unrest as right-wing Israeli factions ramp up their inflammatory rhetoric in the hopes of securing more votes. On June 20, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced that the governing coalition he leads would dissolve the Knesset before the end of the month, bringing down one of the most ideologically diverse governments in Israel’s history. In recent months, several key Knesset members have defected from the coalition, The announcement comes after the defections of several key Knesset members weakened the coalition to the point where it could no longer pass legislation. Last week, lawmakers rejected a pro-settler bill to extend a two-tier legal system in the West Bank, which — according to Bennett — served the final blow to his embattled coalition government.
