The Knesset welcomed three new lawmakers on Monday as the country is just 85 away from its fourth round of elections in less than two years.
Shevach Stern, Ayoob Kara and Matti Yogev from the Likud party were sworn in on Monday in the Knesset plenum. Stern and Kara have previously served as MKs.
They replaced Zeev Elkin, Michal Shir and Sharren Haskel, who resigned from the Knesset to join Gideon Saar’s new New Hope party.
Saar, an opponent of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left the Likud party to run against him.
The House Committee decided on Monday to divide the United Torah Judaism parliamentary group into two separate factions, Agudat Yisrael and Degel HaTorah, a technical move the party goes through before every election.
The Knesset dissolved on December 23 after a bill to extend the deadline for passing the state budget was voted down in the Knesset plenum. The Knesset automatically dissolved, and elections will be held on March 23, 2021.
The political scene is abuzz with parties splitting, others uniting, and yet new ones forming.
The elections come as the left-center bloc is divided, the Arab-majority Joint List is on the verge of dissolution, and three parties that will combat each other are running on the right, ensuring an acrimonious period in an already toxic environment in Israel.
Tel Aviv’s Mayor Ron Huldai will announce his launching of a new left-wing party later this week.
MK Ofer Shelah, who split from Yair Lapid’s Yesh Atid, announced the forming of yet another left-wing party.
Polls show that Prime Minister Benjamín Netanyahu’s Likud party is in the lead with about 28 seats while Blue and White, his former chief coalition partner, has lost most of its power and has about six seats.
Several of its MKs announced in the past week that they will not run for the coming Knesset or that they are searching for a new political home.