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Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon and Interior Minister Aryeh Deri have told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that they support an early election.

Kahlon, the leader of Kulanu and Deri, the leader of Shas, told the Prime Minister that they opposed giving Naftali Bennett the job of Defence Minister. They also expressed concern that the Government, with a current 61-59 majority would not be able to continue to function effectively. Jewish Home leader and Education Minister Naftali Bennett has threatened to resign and pull his party out of the coalition unless he is made Defence Minister. Raising concerns about Israel’s deteriorating deterrence, Bennett said: “I went to the prime minister so that he would assign me the job of Defence Minister, with one objective only: so that Israel would start winning again…Without taking responsibility for security and without a dramatic change, Israel’s power of deterrence will continue to be eroded and Hamas will continue to be unafraid of us. I am prepared to take responsibility.”

Kahlon told Netanyahu “In the current situation, the best course of action for the citizens of Israel and the Israeli economy is to hold elections as early as possible.” Deri echoed similar views saying, “For the country’s well being, we must agree to hold elections.”

What happens next will largely be determined by any understanding reached between Netanyahu and Bennett when they meet today. The Israeli cabinet will meet on Sunday and if there is an agreement to call an election an announcement will be made on Sunday morning.

While polling is still at an early stage, below is a breakdown of the latest poll from Israeli newspaper Maariv:

 

Party	Current Seats	Projected Seats
Likud	30	30
Zionist Union	24	11
Joint List	13	11
Yesh Atid	11	17
Kulanu	10	7
Jewish Home	8	12
Shas	7	5
Yisrael Beiteinu	6	7
United Torah Jerusalem	6	8
Meretz	5	6
Unamed party led by Orly Levy-Abekasis	0	6