Israel will soon have new elections , after its Prime Minister called for the dismissal of two critical members of his coalition Cabinet and announced he 'd call for the dissolution of the nation 's legislature , his office announced Tuesday . Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered letters of dismissal for Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni , two members of his Cabinet from rival parties , according to a statement from his office . `` During the last few weeks and , in particular , the last few days , the ministers have intensely attacked the government that I am leading , '' Netanyahu said . `` ... I will not tolerate ministers attacking the government 's policy and its head from inside the government . '' Bad timing ? The moves come at a tenuous time in Israel , which has been beset by a number of recent terrorist attacks against citizens in Jerusalem . The head of the right-wing Likud party , Netanyahu has been Israel 's Prime Minister since 2009 . But he 's had to rely on members of other parties -- many of them to the left of Likud on the political spectrum -- to govern . His Likud party , for instance , won more seats than any other party in the January 2013 election , but still fell well short of the 60 needed to have a majority in the Knesset . He ended up bringing on other parties into his government . The first to join was `` The Movement , '' a centrist party led by Livni , a former opposition leader and foreign minister . Yapid -- a charismatic journalist-turned-politician -- became another key player , after his centrist Yesh Atid party finished a surprising second in that national election . 'Debate , contradictions , ultimatums ' Netanyahu told reporters Tuesday a divided government was one of Israel 's problems , saying there was a lot of debate , contradictions and ultimatums . He called out Livni for meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas against his recommendation and for criticizing building in Jerusalem , which some say has exacerbated tensions with Arabs there . And Netanyahu lambasted Lapid for calling Israel 's boycott of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani 's U.N. speech a mistake and challenging his push to label Israel a Jewish state , which some fear will alienate the country 's significant Arab population . He also accused the ministers of being behind talks `` to kick out the prime minister . '' `` In one word , they call this a putsch , '' Netanyahu said . `` You can not have a government like this . It 's impossible to govern like this . '' In a Facebook post Tuesday , Livni said , `` The question in the election will not be who was the first to identify the threats and use them for political means , but who will deal with the threats in a responsible , level headed manner for the good of the country . '' Political party reacts . Yesh Atid also fired back in a statement , in which it said Lapid told Netanyahu by phone that he expected the Prime Minister `` to act responsibly and to stop dragging the ( Israeli military ) and our soldiers into an election for your political needs . '' Yesh Atid claimed that `` unnecessary elections ... will harm the economy and Israeli society , all for narrow political interests and a surrender to the ultra-orthodox parties , the powerful central committee of the Likud and outside lobby groups . '' `` Prime Minister Netanyahu has failed in his management of the country and in dealing with the needs of the Israeli public , '' the Yesh Atid party said . `` The firing of ministers is an act of cowardice and loss of control . ''
Netanyahu lays out his problems with ministers : ` ` It 's impossible to live like this '' An outgoing minister accused Netanyahu of using threats ` ` for political gain '' Prime Minister orders ouster of Finance Minister Joshua Lapid , Justice Minister Tzipi Livni . He will also call to dissolve the Knesset , clearing the way for new elections .