No choice: Deri and Kahlon call for elections after Liberman quits

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to be left with no choice but to go to an election, after Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Interior Minister Arye Deri both said on Thursday that it was the preferable outcome following Avigdor Liberman’s resignation from the Defense Ministry.

Kahlon said in a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that it would be best for Israel to go to an election as soon as possible.

“In the current situation, the right thing for the citizens of Israel and the Israeli economy is to go to an election as soon as possible,” Kahlon said.

According to Kahlon, the stability necessary at this time is unattainable as long as there is political uncertainty, and going to an election in order to form a new, strong and stable government would be the most responsible thing to do.

Kahlon also offered to coordinate the official dissolution of the Knesset and selecting a date for the national election.

Soon after, Deri met with Netanyahu and told him that, following Kahlon’s statement, there should be an election as soon as possible “for the good of the country,” and the date should be coordinated with party leaders.

Netanyahu is expected to meet with Education Minister Naftali Bennett on Friday morning.

Earlier Thursday, Liberman tendered his resignation from the Defense Ministry in a letter to Netanyahu.

His resignation will take effect in 48 hours, and Netanyahu will automatically retain the portfolio, unless and until he appoints someone else as defense minister.

Liberman submitted the letter the morning after a press conference in the Knesset, in which he announced he and his Yisrael Beytenu party would be leaving the coalition, following a ceasefire with Hamas that he said “cannot be interpreted in any way other than a capitulation to terrorism.”

“This will severely harm our security in the long run. The response that we gave to the 500 rockets shot from Gaza was not enough, to say the least. The South should come first. Our weakness is being broadcast to other fronts,” he said.

Following the resignation, the coalition will be left with a one-seat majority. Bayit Yehudi demanded that Bennett be appointed defense minister, or they too will leave the coalition, triggering an election.

With Liberman’s resignation, Yisrael Beytenu MK Yulia Malinovsky will automatically be removed from the Knesset. She became a legislature 2.5 years ago as part of the Norwegian Law, by which a minister may resign from the Knesset, allowing someone to take his or her place, but if the minister leaves the government, he or she gets a seat in the Knesset again, removing the newcomer.

Also Thursday, Likud MK Jacky Levy resigned from the Knesset, after being elected Mayor of Bet Shean. He will be replaced by Osnat Mark, bringing the number of women in this Knesset up to a record 36.