MKs advance bill to dissolve Knesset, potentially trigger slightly earlier elections |
Lawmakers voted on Wednesday afternoon 110-0 in favor of a preliminary reading of a government-backed bill to dissolve the Knesset, potentially triggering slightly earlier elections if ultimately passed into law.
The dissolution bill does not specify an election date — instead stipulating that it be set by the Knesset House Committee on a day no less than three months from the legislation’s final approval — and the timeline for passing the bill remains unclear: It could be pushed swiftly through the Knesset in the coming days, or delayed by political machinations.
Elections must be held within five months of the law’s passing, which would mean mid- to late-October at the latest. The Knesset’s ultra-Orthodox parties reportedly favor an election date in early September. Elections must, in any case, be held by October 27.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not attend the vote, instead reportedly holding security consultations.
The vote was welcome by the opposition, with Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben Ari screaming out the “Shehecheyanu” blessing, recited by Jews on joyous occasions, in the middle of the plenum.
Calling the vote “the beginning of the end of the worst government in Israel’s history,” Democrats chair Yair Golan said that “it no longer matters whether elections are moved up or held on schedule”; the government that has caused “unprecedented damage” is “nearing the end of its path.”
“These are the October 7 elections,” the left-wing party leader declared in a statement, vowing to “send home the government of failure that brought upon us the greatest disaster in the country’s history.”
Addressing lawmakers, coalition whip Ofir Katz insisted that the “coalition has served its purpose.”
“We have passed nine budgets in this term and 520 laws. Regarding the conscription law, we will pass a law that comes through dialogue and meets the needs of the IDF,” Katz said. “The value of Torah study must be maintained, and at the same time, those who do not study will enlist.”
Wednesday’s vote came after Netanyahu’s erstwhile allies in the United Torah Judaism party........