Amid the recent coalition spat over the conversion therapy bill and the growing rift between the Likud and Blue and White parties over the national budget, many believe another election is more likely by the day.
President Reuven Rivlin lashed out at squabbling members the national unity government, beseeching them to quit bickering at a time of national emergency and stop floating the prospect of yet another "terrible" election campaign.
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"I look at the developments in the Knesset with deep concern as they shake the already fragile relations between coalition partners. As a citizen and on behalf of us all, I say: get a grip!" Rivlin wrote on Twitter. "Stop the talk of early elections, of that terrible option at this time... The State of Israel is not a rag doll you drag around as you squabble."
Rivlin's appeal came a day after the Knesset passed a controversial bill to grant the government sweeping authority to bypass the legislature in enacting measures to combat the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Netanyahu's main partner, Blue and White, broke ranks with coalition discipline to pass the pro-gay rights bill that outraged the ultra-Orthodox members of the government.
There has also been a wave of angry protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his perceived mismanagement of the country's deepening public health and economic crisis. After initially bringing the coronavirus under control, Israel is now suffering a peak of some 2,000 new cases a day while unemployment has soared above 20%.
Despite the public speculation, however, senior government officials on both sides of the coalition fence on Thursday downplayed the specter of another election.
"The outside noise is far more dramatic than what's actually going on," a senior coalition official told Israel Hayom. "No one wants elections."
At a press conference late Thursday, Netanyahu also dismissed the talk of early elections, calling the idea "absurd."
But, he added: "We are in the midst of the corona crisis and we must handle it. We also need to pass a budget. All the economists say we need to approve a short-term budget. The only reason we would go to elections is that we can't pass a budget. We have until August 24; if we pass a budget there won't be elections, and the reason we aren't passing a budget is that my partners in the government and in Blue and White aren't cooperating."
Earlier in the day, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein (Likud) told Army Radio, "I implore all my colleagues to stop all this [bickering]. This isn't the time for all these games. I told Netanyahu this is not the time for elections."
However, coalition whip Miki Zohar, a close Netanyahu ally, warned that the government could not survive much longer like this.
"It's time to make a decision: Either pass a budget, have a stable government and a functioning coalition, or go to elections," he said.
Blue and White said in a statement that "the prime minister must stop deteriorating the situation toward elections and do two things: take care of the corona crisis with a long-term budget, and uphold the [coalition] agreement he signed two months ago."
Other officials maintain that neither Likud nor Blue and White want another election. Despite polls suggesting that Netanyahu's Likud maintains a sizable lead over any other challenger and it will be difficult to topple him in elections, the prime has been losing the public's trust and his position in the polls could suffer as a result. Blue and White's situation in the polls remains tenuous.
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