(220503) -- JERUSALEM, May 3, 2022 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett speaks during a ceremony marking Israel's Memorial Day of fallen soldiers and terror victims in Jerusalem, on May 3, 2022. The official Memorial Day pays tribute to soldiers killed during their military service and wars, as well as the civilian victims of attacks. (Marc Israel Sellem/JINI via Xinhua) (Photo by Xinhua/Sipa USA)
MIDEAST-JERUSALEM-ISRAEL-MEMORIAL DAY
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel’s weakened coalition government has announced that it will dissolve parliament and call new elections. The move sets the stage for the possible return to power of former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or another period of prolonged political gridlock. The election will be Israel’s fifth in three years. It will put the polarizing Netanyahu, who has been the opposition leader for the past year, back at the center of the political universe. The previous four elections focused on Netanyahu’s fitness to rule while facing a corruption investigation. Opinion polls project him as the front-runner, but it is far from certain that his Likud party can secure the required parliamentary majority to form a new government.
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