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| Netanyahu Fires Centrist Israeli Ministers and Calls for New Elections | Netanyahu Fires Centrist Israeli Ministers and Calls for New Elections |
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| JERUSALEM — In a decisive move after days of intense political bickering, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel fired his centrist finance and justice ministers on Tuesday and called for the dissolution of Parliament and early elections. | JERUSALEM — In a decisive move after days of intense political bickering, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel fired his centrist finance and justice ministers on Tuesday and called for the dissolution of Parliament and early elections. |
| Mr. Netanyahu excoriated Yair Lapid, the finance minister, and Tzipi Livni, the justice minister, for attacking his government and its policies from within in recent weeks, declaring in a statement, “I will no longer tolerate opposition from within the government.” | Mr. Netanyahu excoriated Yair Lapid, the finance minister, and Tzipi Livni, the justice minister, for attacking his government and its policies from within in recent weeks, declaring in a statement, “I will no longer tolerate opposition from within the government.” |
| Israel’s march toward early elections set out last week with a political row over a nationality bill. This week it morphed into a clash over proposed housing changes and the state budget. | Israel’s march toward early elections set out last week with a political row over a nationality bill. This week it morphed into a clash over proposed housing changes and the state budget. |
| But Israeli political analysts said the call for elections, 20 months after the current coalition was sworn in, was not about nationality or reduced-cost housing or any other issue of ideology or principle. | But Israeli political analysts said the call for elections, 20 months after the current coalition was sworn in, was not about nationality or reduced-cost housing or any other issue of ideology or principle. |
| Instead, they said, Mr. Netanyahu had simply had enough of his fractious coalition partners and wanted a more manageable government made up of rightist allies and the ultra-Orthodox parties he has long considered his natural partners. | Instead, they said, Mr. Netanyahu had simply had enough of his fractious coalition partners and wanted a more manageable government made up of rightist allies and the ultra-Orthodox parties he has long considered his natural partners. |
| “It is not about this law or that,” said Yehuda Ben Meir, a former politician and a public opinion and national security expert at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. Noting that there was room for compromise on the nationality bill and that Mr. Netanyahu originally voted in favor of the housing bill, he said the prime minister appeared to have used these issues to force a coalition crisis. | “It is not about this law or that,” said Yehuda Ben Meir, a former politician and a public opinion and national security expert at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. Noting that there was room for compromise on the nationality bill and that Mr. Netanyahu originally voted in favor of the housing bill, he said the prime minister appeared to have used these issues to force a coalition crisis. |
| “This was Netanyahu’s call and his alone,” Mr. Ben Meir said. | “This was Netanyahu’s call and his alone,” Mr. Ben Meir said. |
| Avigdor Lieberman, the foreign minister and a key coalition member who has tried to mediate between the quarreling factions, said at a news conference on Tuesday that “elections are a fait accompli.” He added: “They should be held as soon as possible.” | Avigdor Lieberman, the foreign minister and a key coalition member who has tried to mediate between the quarreling factions, said at a news conference on Tuesday that “elections are a fait accompli.” He added: “They should be held as soon as possible.” |
| Barring any dramatic turnaround, a bill for the dissolution of Parliament could be brought to a vote in the coming week. Elections would then be scheduled for March at the earliest. | Barring any dramatic turnaround, a bill for the dissolution of Parliament could be brought to a vote in the coming week. Elections would then be scheduled for March at the earliest. |
| Long-simmering tensions within the current coalition, which is made up of five rightist and centrist parties, crystallized into a bitter rivalry between Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud Party, and Mr. Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid, a major coalition member. | Long-simmering tensions within the current coalition, which is made up of five rightist and centrist parties, crystallized into a bitter rivalry between Mr. Netanyahu, the leader of the conservative Likud Party, and Mr. Lapid, the leader of Yesh Atid, a major coalition member. |
| A Monday night meeting between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Lapid was billed as a last chance for the sides to resolve their differences. But barely minutes after Mr. Lapid left the room, Mr. Netanyahu’s office provided Israeli political reporters with a list of five conditions that the prime minister had presented to the finance minister in an ultimatum that Mr. Lapid was bound to refuse. | A Monday night meeting between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Lapid was billed as a last chance for the sides to resolve their differences. But barely minutes after Mr. Lapid left the room, Mr. Netanyahu’s office provided Israeli political reporters with a list of five conditions that the prime minister had presented to the finance minister in an ultimatum that Mr. Lapid was bound to refuse. |
| The list included a demand that Mr. Lapid stop criticizing Mr. Netanyahu for his policies and his relations with the United States; a demand for support of a version of the nationality bill yet to be presented by Mr. Netanyahu; changes to a budget that had already been agreed upon; and an order to freeze a bill that would exempt young couples from paying the value-added tax when buying a first home — Mr. Lapid’s flagship initiative. | The list included a demand that Mr. Lapid stop criticizing Mr. Netanyahu for his policies and his relations with the United States; a demand for support of a version of the nationality bill yet to be presented by Mr. Netanyahu; changes to a budget that had already been agreed upon; and an order to freeze a bill that would exempt young couples from paying the value-added tax when buying a first home — Mr. Lapid’s flagship initiative. |
| In a blistering speech at an energy conference on Tuesday, Mr. Lapid accused Mr. Netanyahu of forcing “unnecessary elections” and castigated him for the damage to Israel’s relations with the United States “because of patronizing and at times insulting behavior.” | In a blistering speech at an energy conference on Tuesday, Mr. Lapid accused Mr. Netanyahu of forcing “unnecessary elections” and castigated him for the damage to Israel’s relations with the United States “because of patronizing and at times insulting behavior.” |
| “These elections are not about a particular issue,” Mr. Lapid said. “Not about security and not about society.” | “These elections are not about a particular issue,” Mr. Lapid said. “Not about security and not about society.” |
| Tzipi Livni, the centrist justice minister and leader of the smaller Hatnua party, has also been sharply critical of Mr. Netanyahu, most recently for his promotion of a hard-line version of the nationality bill drafted by right-wing politicians that gave Israel’s Jewish character precedence over its democratic principles. | Tzipi Livni, the centrist justice minister and leader of the smaller Hatnua party, has also been sharply critical of Mr. Netanyahu, most recently for his promotion of a hard-line version of the nationality bill drafted by right-wing politicians that gave Israel’s Jewish character precedence over its democratic principles. |
| “I will not support or give my hand to any extremist, ultranationalist, anti-Zionist legislation,” Ms. Livni said at another conference on Tuesday. “I will not give my hand to any provocation, neither in words or actions.” | “I will not support or give my hand to any extremist, ultranationalist, anti-Zionist legislation,” Ms. Livni said at another conference on Tuesday. “I will not give my hand to any provocation, neither in words or actions.” |
| Gadi Wolfsfeld, a professor of political communications at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, said Mr. Netanyahu was indeed under attack every day and was “basically sick of sitting with Lapid and Livni in a government he cannot control.” | Gadi Wolfsfeld, a professor of political communications at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel, said Mr. Netanyahu was indeed under attack every day and was “basically sick of sitting with Lapid and Livni in a government he cannot control.” |
| “There is no ideology involved,” Professor Wolfsfeld said. “For now it is pure politics. He is just tired of these people and he assumes that elections will take them down more than a peg.” | “There is no ideology involved,” Professor Wolfsfeld said. “For now it is pure politics. He is just tired of these people and he assumes that elections will take them down more than a peg.” |
| Some analysts said the seeds of the crisis were laid from the outset after the 2013 elections, when Mr. Netanyahu was forced to form a coalition he did not really want. His options were curtailed by an unexpected alliance between two political newcomers who did surprisingly well in the ballot: Mr. Lapid, a former television talk show host, whose party won 19 seats in the 120-seat Parliament, and Naftali Bennett, the leader of the right-wing Jewish Home, which won 12 seats. | Some analysts said the seeds of the crisis were laid from the outset after the 2013 elections, when Mr. Netanyahu was forced to form a coalition he did not really want. His options were curtailed by an unexpected alliance between two political newcomers who did surprisingly well in the ballot: Mr. Lapid, a former television talk show host, whose party won 19 seats in the 120-seat Parliament, and Naftali Bennett, the leader of the right-wing Jewish Home, which won 12 seats. |
| Mr. Netanyahu could not form a government without one or the other. They banded together and conditioned their participation on the exclusion of the ultra-Orthodox parties, Mr. Netanyahu’s longstanding allies. Mr. Lapid and Mr. Bennett are no longer in alliance. | Mr. Netanyahu could not form a government without one or the other. They banded together and conditioned their participation on the exclusion of the ultra-Orthodox parties, Mr. Netanyahu’s longstanding allies. Mr. Lapid and Mr. Bennett are no longer in alliance. |
| In Israel’s fractured and largely sectoral political scene, no single party ever wins enough votes for a parliamentary majority, making coalition rule a necessity. And while it is not unusual for diverse partners to sit together in a coalition, this will be the first time in more than five decades that a Parliament has been dissolved less than two years after it was elected. | In Israel’s fractured and largely sectoral political scene, no single party ever wins enough votes for a parliamentary majority, making coalition rule a necessity. And while it is not unusual for diverse partners to sit together in a coalition, this will be the first time in more than five decades that a Parliament has been dissolved less than two years after it was elected. |
| Mr. Netanyahu is seeking a fourth term in office. He was first elected in the 1990s and was re-elected in 2009 and again in 2013 for what was supposed to be a four-year term. | Mr. Netanyahu is seeking a fourth term in office. He was first elected in the 1990s and was re-elected in 2009 and again in 2013 for what was supposed to be a four-year term. |
| Isaac Herzog, the leader of the center-left Labor Party and the current opposition chief, said he would try to form a bloc of like-minded parties before or immediately after the elections. | Isaac Herzog, the leader of the center-left Labor Party and the current opposition chief, said he would try to form a bloc of like-minded parties before or immediately after the elections. |
| The government breakdown comes at a time of rising violence, when there is no peace process with the Palestinians and many Israelis are struggling financially and worrying about their personal security. | The government breakdown comes at a time of rising violence, when there is no peace process with the Palestinians and many Israelis are struggling financially and worrying about their personal security. |
| Many here say they view new elections as a costly sign of instability. | Many here say they view new elections as a costly sign of instability. |
| “Israel is entering these elections at a low point,” Nahum Barnea, a prominent political columnist, wrote in the popular Yediot Aharonot newspaper on Tuesday. “If you were to ask the Israelis which party they intend to vote for, many of them would reply that they have no intention of voting at all.” |