Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sacked two of his ministers and announced he wants to dissolve parliament “as soon as possible”.
Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni were the heads of two centrist parties and had challenged the right wing cabinet
on some of its policies
“In one word that is called putsch and that makes it impossible to run a government, that makes it impossible to lead a country. Therefore a short while ago, I instructed the cabinet secretary to issue dismissal letters to ministers Livni and Lapid,” Netanyahu declared.
Netanyahu’s government took office last year, but had difficulty passing the 2015 budget and a controversial Jewish nation-state bill that critics say discriminates against Arab citizens.
Early national elections now look likely and could be as soon as March.
Opinion polls show Netanyahu’s rightist Likud party would continue to be the largest group in parliament.
