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Demands for term limits rise as Netanyahu clings to power

Benjamin Netanyahu's endless fight to keep the premiership has prompted calls for change from Israelis exhausted from three elections in one year.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks on as he sits next to Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, during a memorial ceremony for late Israeli President Shimon Peres, at Mount Herzl in Jerusalem September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC140183F6E0
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Israel is currently observing the one-year anniversary of its transition government, hoping that the third round of elections in March 2020 will be the last for a while. Israeli law contains clear rules regarding how the cabinet is created. The president imposes the mission on the Knesset member with the highest chances for gathering enough supporters to create a majority coalition and swear in a new government. The premier is tasked with serving his or her constituency as well as those who did not vote for him or her. But under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s tenure, these goals were forgotten. He does not hesitate to disperse the Knesset when it suits him personally, for example to promote a legal change to serve his own interests. He acts like a lone ruler.

The media focus on the new elections, the third in less than a year, has distracted the public from the fact that the elections held in April were also moved up: Netanyahu wanted to outsmart the attorney general and force him to delay publicizing his indictment decision. Since then, the attorney general has submitted his indictment to the Knesset chairman. That means that Netanyahu will stand trial unless he reaches a plea bargain or receives immunity from the Knesset. Meanwhile, Netanyahu continues to make his own rules.

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