Israeli opposition parties have once again filed motions for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister’s cabinet
FILE PHOTO. Israeli citizens march to the Knesset demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government on May 20, 2024 © Getty Images / Saeed Qaq; Anadolu
Israeli opposition parties have renewed their push to hold a parliamentary no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as pressure mounts over the government’s handling of the Gaza War, according to the Times of Israel.
On Monday, the first day of the parliament’s new legislative session, the left-wing Labor party handed in its request for a vote – saying the government “does not provide security as required for the citizens of Israel, neither personal nor national security.”
The party accused Netanyahu’s cabinet of failing to help residents displaced from their homes in the north and south of the country, and of being “unable to bring home all 128 hostages from Hamas captivity.”
“This is a government motivated by political considerations, which has violated the basic contract between the leadership and its citizens. Every day it remains in power, it is a danger to the State of Israel,” the letter concluded.
Later on Monday, Labor – together with the opposition Yesh Atid and Hadash-Ta’al parties – also submitted no-confidence motions against Netanyahu’s government, which were all struck down in the Knesset after failing to secure the necessary majority. Similar bids to oust Netanyahu were put forward by opposition parties in January and March.
Opposition leader Yair Lapid declared that “with this government, we will not win the war” and accused members of the ruling Likud party of ignoring the country’s own citizens.
“I read the letter that Likud members are now signing against the decree from The Hague to file an arrest warrant against the Israeli prime minister. Bring it, we will sign it. It will be both a coalition and opposition document,” Lapid said.
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“But where is the letter from all Likud members saying that we will not rest until all the abductees return home? Where is the letter from all Likud members who say that we will return the residents of the north by the first of September,” the opposition leader was quoted as saying by the Times of Israel.
The renewed domestic pressure on Netanyahu came as the International Criminal Court’s top prosecutor, Karim Khan, announced on Monday that he was seeking arrest warrants for the prime minister and Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over alleged war crimes against Palestinian civilians in Gaza.
Since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israeli territories, which saw over 1,200 people killed and another 250 taken hostage, the Jewish State’s response has left over 35,000 dead and nearly 80,000 wounded, as a result of relentless airstrikes and a ground offensive in Gaza.
