This article is being written at a time when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government is hanging by a thread, its ultimate fate unknown. The prime minister himself is the one trying to push for snap elections, while his coalition partners are digging in and trying to prevent him from doing so.

The ultra-Orthodox draft crisis over amending the army enlistment law, which lit the fire that is running wild now, was not born yesterday. It has accompanied Israel ever since the inception of the state, and it has reached even higher peaks than now. The feud is now being waged between the ultra-Orthodox factions, who want to perpetuate the exemption of ultra-Orthodox Jews from being drafted into the Israel Defense Forces, and Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman and his Yisrael Beitenu faction, who insist on enforcing the draft. This issue could be solved now the same way as was done in the past: by a temporary compromise, on the way to a temporary arrangement, until the Supreme Court steps in again to set limits and open the struggle anew.

To the surprise of many in the political system, this local and resolvable crisis turned into an existential event last week, courtesy of Netanyahu and Liberman. Simultaneously, Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon announced March 6 that he would resign if the state budget for 2019 does not pass in the Knesset by the end of the current session. At the moment, it is still not clear how things will play out, but what is clear is the fact that the prime minister could have resolved the crisis relatively easily, had he wanted to. The thing is, Netanyahu did not want to, because what he really wants is snap elections in June. Elections in June would enable him to reach the phase of indictment by the attorney general — if it comes to that — as a prime minister who was just re-elected with an overwhelming support of the public. According to the polls, Netanyahu would be re-elected to the premiership with an even greater majority than he received in 2015.

In the background of all this is the struggle over Netanyahu’s throne. Among the contenders are Education Minister Naftali Bennett, his sworn rival Liberman and Kahlon, who is hovering in the background. All three are currently not in the Likud; two of them are past veteran Likud members (Kahlon and Liberman). All three realize that in order to reach the premier’s throne, they must be members of the ruling party, the Likud, and not members of their current respective platforms. Kahlon is waiting for the “Day After Netanyahu” in order to return to the Likud. Bennett is trying to consolidate a plan for taking control of the Likud from the outside. And Liberman realizes that his Yisrael Beitenu party is a dead horse and he must somehow make his way back to the Likud if he wants to get anywhere (despite the fact that most of the Likud’s senior members don’t want him there). Likud senior members Yisrael Katz, Gilad Erdan and Gideon Saar will do anything to keep those three from joining the party. The only one who could cause that to happen is Netanyahu.