The Plenum - Motions of No-Confidence

The Knesset at Work

The Plenum:
Introduction
Legislation
Motions for the Agenda
Parliamentary Questions
Debates
Resolutions
Ceremonial Events
Foreign Visitors

The Plenum - Motions of No-Confidence

Until the end of the term of the 13th Knesset, the Knesset could bring about the resignation of the government by means of a vote of no-confidence. Only one government was forced to resign as a result of a vote on a motion of no-confidence in the course of the 12th Knesset, on March 15, 1990. There was a case in the First Knesset in which Prime Minister David Ben Gurion announced the resignation of the Second Government following a vote on the government's educational policies which was won by the opposition. David Ben-Gurion viewed this as a no-confidence vote and resigned accordingly. According to the original Basic Law: the Government, enacted in 1968, a majority of those participating in the vote could bring about the resignation of the government, and as a result, the President of the State was called upon to approach the head of the Parliamentary Group with the best chances of forming a new government to do so. According to the Basic Law: the Government enacted in 1992, a majority of the Knesset Members can bring about the resignation of the Prime Minister, and as a result new elections will be held for both the Knesset and the Prime Minister. The frequent use of motion of no-confidence as a means of attacking the government began in the 11th Knesset, in the course of which the largest number of motions of no-confidence was registered - 165.