The seven-strong ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party said Tuesday that it would seek to dissolve the Knesset, triggering early elections, because of the coalition’s failure to pass a law enshrining the decades-old exemption of Haredi yeshiva students from military service.

Multiple opposition MKs promptly submitted bills for the dissolution of parliament, with the Yesh Atid party seeking to begin the process on Wednesday. Nonetheless, it was not immediately clear when and whether such a vote would be held, whether it would pass, and, if so, when elections might be held. In any case, general elections must be held no later than October 27, 2026.

Legislation to dissolve parliament would require four plenum votes — a preliminary vote, and three further readings — supported by a simple majority of 61 MKs in the 120-member Knesset. If the process were expedited, elections could be called for as early as August. The Haredi parties are believed to favor September 15, while Netanyahu reportedly wants the election as close as possible to October 27.

Buzz over the potential for early elections came after Rabbi Dov Lando, the senior spiritual leader of UTJ’s four-MK Degel HaTorah faction, called on Tuesday for quickly dissolving the Knesset and bringing forward this year’s election over the coalition’s failure to pass the legislation, following a meeting with the faction’s lawmakers at his Bnei Brak home.

“We no longer have any trust in [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” Lando said in a statement. “From this point forward, we will do only what is best for Haredi Judaism and the yeshiva world. We must act to dissolve the Knesset as soon as possible. The concept of a [right-wing] bloc [including the Haredim] no longer exists as far as we are concerned.”

After Lando’s announcement, UTJ’s second faction, the three-MK Agudat Yisrael, indicated that it would support the dissolution of the Knesset should it come to a vote. “We’ve been waiting a long time to disperse,” an Agudat Yisrael source told The Times of Israel.

UTJ, a core member when Netanyahu assembled his coalition after the 2022 elections, formally pulled out of the government and the coalition last year in the protracted dispute over the legislation. To pass, however, a vote to dissolve the Knesset would need to be backed not only by all other opposition parties, but also by the fellow ultra-Orthodox party Shas, which has 11 MKs, and which did not immediately make its position clear.

The decision by the UTJ factions was made after Netanyahu told Haredi MKs last week that the coalition currently doesn’t have the votes to pass the draft-exemption legislation, and reportedly asked them to agree to shelve the bill until after the elections. Since the beginning of the government’s tenure in December 2022, Netanyahu had repeatedly assured his Haredi partners that the legislation would be passed.

Channel 13 news quoted Lando as having also called Netanyahu a “liar” during Tuesday’s meeting with Degel HaTorah representatives. “We’ve had to suck it up time after time for the bloc [with Netanyahu], but they don’t understand. No more words from Netanyahu, only actions. Even if Netanyahu comes to me now and tells me one plus one equals two, I won’t believe him anymore. He is a........

© The Times of Israel