Analyst: Israel political crisis is not over yet

(24 Aug 2020) LEAD IN: As Israel's political crisis continues and the country may slide back into elections, an analyst says. New elections would plunge the country into political chaos during a deep economic and public health crisis. STORY-LINE: The political crisis in Israel is not over but will just be extended, an analyst said on Monday, a day after the prime minister accepted a proposal to extend budget negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival and coalition partner, Benny Gantz, had faced a Monday night deadline to agree on a budget. Otherwise, the government would have collapsed and automatically triggered a new vote. Netanyahu announced on Sunday that he had accepted a proposal to extend budget negotiations, preventing the government from collapsing and plunging the country into a new election. In a nationally televised address, Netanyahu said that now was not the time to drag the country into a fourth parliamentary elections in less than two years. But the country's political crisis is continuing, said Yohanan Plesner, of the Israel Democracy Institute. At the core of the crisis is Netanyahu's demand to appoint "the very heads of the law enforcement agencies that he is expected to confront in the courtroom," the analyst said. The current political crisis pitting the prime minister against rival-turned-partner Gantz is ostensibly over the country's national budget. But the crisis has deeper roots in the troubled partnership between Netanyahu and Gantz, economic troubles stemming from the country's coronavirus outbreak and the prime minister's ongoing corruption trial. Critics accuse Netanyahu of using the budget battle to force a new election in hopes of securing a friendlier parliament that could help solve his legal troubles. After three deadlocked elections, Netanyahu and Gantz reached a power-sharing agreement in April to form a government to address the virus crisis. As part of their coalition deal, Netanyahu's Likud party and Gantz's Blue and White agreed to pass a two-year budget. "Israel is now having to confront its deepest and most dramatic economic crisis in decades. And we're doing so without a budget," said Plesner. Netanyahu has insisted on passing a budget to cover only the remainder of 2020, saying it will provide immediate assistance to the economy. Gantz is adamant that the government honour its agreement and pass one for 2020 and 2021. Their disagreement has again brought the country to the brink of political meltdown. But pushing back the deadline would only kick the budget crisis down the road. "The coalition government is expected to continue to stagger," Plesner said. He added that the country may even slide into elections "within just a few months". If the budget deadline is not deferred, and new elections are triggered, it would plunge the country into political chaos during a deep economic and public health crisis and while the prime minister is on trial for corruption. Netanyahu is charged with fraud, breach of trust and accepting bribes in three separate cases. His criminal trial began in June, but he has refused to step down from office and denies any wrongdoing. Netanyahu appears determined to remain prime minister — and therefore not legally obligated to resign while under indictment — through the duration of his trial, which is expected to last several years. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...