"We're not revving our engines ahead of an election; it is already election time," a senior coalition official told Israel Hayom this weekend.
The official was speaking ahead of a fateful meeting of coalition heads scheduled to follow the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, at which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to inform coalition partners whether he intends to go to the polls as scheduled in November 2019, or call for early elections.
"Today [Sunday], Netanyahu is going to raise the issue of bringing the [Ethiopian] Falash Mura to Israel, an issue that has broad public support. Why is he mentioning it now? The answer is, 'It's election time,'" the official said.
He said that three weeks ago, Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke about a compromise to resolve the haredi conscription crisis, which has torn the coalition and the public apart, but the minister had now "climbed onto a high horse and is refusing to make any changes to the law."
The official also said Education Minister Naftali Bennett has launched a right-wing campaign and is openly eyeing the position of defense minister. "Why? Because it's election time," the official said.
A cabinet minister also said that "even if the prime minister doesn't want an election, there's a chance that this ship has already sailed. It's hard to imagine how we will be able to work together these next few months."
The minister said, "Even if, at the meeting of coalition party heads, everyone decides to work together, that may not last. Maybe [Likud MK] Amir Ohana will reintroduce the bill to make surrogacy an option for single men [and by extension for homosexual couples]. Then what will everyone who is afraid of criticism from the LGBTQ community do? Will they vote against it and come under fire?"
The minister also said Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid, a member of the opposition who has a largely secular voter base similar to that of Finance Minister and Kulanu chairman Moshe Kahlon, may decide to submit a bill on supermarket closures on Shabbat.
"Will Kahlon oppose [such a bill]? It would be a very complicated issue with which to begin the Knesset winter session. It seems there's no way of avoiding an early election," the minister said.
However, Tourism Minister Yariv Levin said early elections are not inevitable.
"It is possible to keep the government going, but it demands that all partners take responsibility for continued cooperation and avoid taking populist steps," he said.
"I always think that we need to make the most of a right-wing government. It's the best thing to do. Especially given the times, the diplomatic opportunities, and plenty of other issues that we need to finish taking care of, such as codifying the status of the Settlement Brigade, solving the issue of illegal migrants, and more.
"It's obvious to everyone that only through dialogue between the partners, as there used to be, and reaching agreements on issues like the haredi conscription bill, will the current government be able to last," Levin said.
