Reuters
Outgoing Israeli government partners vow to block Netanyahu comeback
Two members of Israel’s outgoing coalition government vowed on Tuesday to prevent a comeback by ex-premier Benjamin Netanyahu, their fellow right winger, as the country braced for a fifth election in three years with polling predicting no clear winner. Sapped by infighting that ended his razor-thin parliamentary majority, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett on Monday announced he would move to dissolve the Knesset, with Foreign Minister Yair Lapid assuming top office in a caretaker capacity. The prospect of an election as early as October – delighted Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving leader who was toppled a year ago after Bennett mustered a rare coalition of hard-right, liberal and Arab politicians.