The members of the Tiberias city council voted on Sunday evening against the municipal budget proposal for 2019 submitted by Mayor Ron Kobi.
As a result, the council has been dissolved and will be replaced by an appointed committee. Kobi will be summoned to a hearing before termination at the Interior Ministry within the next two weeks.
Kobi had two opportunities to pass the budget, but failed to do so both times. He was granted a two-week extension by Interior Minister Aryeh Deri after the first failed vote.
In Sunday evening’s vote, six members of city council supported the budget, while nine opposed it.
Kobi will be summoned to a hearing before a committee composed of professionals at the Interior Ministry and he will have to convince the committee that he has done everything possible to pass the budget. He is expected to be fired from office.
Kobi, however, has already announced his intention to run for the 22nd Knesset in September, as the leader of a new party, Secular Right.
The party registrar, Attorney Eyal Globus, last week rejected Yisrael Beytenu's petition to prevent the registration of Kobi's new party under the name “Secular Right”.
Kobi, who was elected last October, has clashed with the haredi community repeatedly, following his decision to provide free public transportation on the Sabbath.
Transportation Minister Bezalel Smotrich responded to the dispersal of the Tiberias city council on Sunday night and said, "The man who has not stopped inciting, quarreling and fighting anything that smells Jewish will soon be going home. Hats off to the Tiberias city council members who put the good of the city, unity and Judaism in front of their eyes, did not think about themselves, and voted tonight against the budget despite the fact that they dispersed themselves, and gave up power and influence.”
"Tiberias deserves more, and with God’s help will receive a new, responsible and unifying leadership that will realize the amazing potential of this city without sowing hatred and controversy. Ron Kobi will be remembered as something unimportant in the glorious history of this city. We are all committed to helping it emerge from the crisis and embark on a new path," he added.