TEL AVIV (Sputnik) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened that he will dissolve the government if no agreement is reached with Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon over the reform of the state system of radio and television broadcasting, local media reported Sunday.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, Netanyahu told his cabinet on Saturday that if Kahlon did not agree to reform the Israel Broadcasting Authority and to abolish the new project by the middle of next week, he would call snap elections.
Earlier this week, Netanyahu and Kahlon agreed to create a new Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation, which would be less subjected to government control, instead of the Israel Broadcasting Authority.
1 March 2017, 08:21 GMT
However, on Saturday, Netanyahu wrote on his Facebook page that he "changed his mind" after meeting with the broadcaster's employees, as about 1,000 staff members could be fired due to the reform. The Israeli prime minister also noted that keeping the old company on air would be cheaper than establishing and operating a new one.
In turn, several sources told Haaretz that Kahlon viewed this move as an attempt to control the media in the country.
The next legislative elections in Israel are scheduled to be held in 2019.
