Israeli Lawmakers Advance Bill To Dissolve Knesset, Setting Stage For Early Elections

Israeli lawmakers advanced a bill to dissolve the Knesset and pave the way for early elections, with a preliminary reading on Wednesday showing 110 out of 120 lawmakers voting in favour and none against, while the rest did not cast their votes.

“Israeli lawmakers have voted to advance a bill that would dissolve parliament and pave the way for early elections”

Al Jazeera

The bill will now pass to a committee before three more parliamentary readings, and if it receives final approval a process that could take weeks would trigger an election within 90 days.

Al Jazeera

The vote came as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faced mounting pressure from ultra-Orthodox parties over his promise to pass legislation exempting young men of their community from mandatory military service.

Al Jazeera also framed the political turmoil against the backdrop of Israel being at war on multiple fronts in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, while many Israelis blame Netanyahu for the security failure that enabled the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023.

In the same vote, coalition chairman Ofir Katz said, “This coalition has completed its days,” as he pointed to budgets and laws passed during the term.

The dissolution drive is tied to a dispute over military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox men, with the legislation now moving to the Knesset House Committee before returning to the plenum for its first reading.

Caliber.Az, citing Ynet, said the bill advanced in a preliminary vote on May 20, while a separate dissolution bill submitted by the Blue and White party also passed its preliminary reading with backing from ultra-Orthodox parties.

Al-Jazeera Net

In parallel, Netanyahu sought to prevent the government’s collapse by reviving efforts to pass the draft exemption bill, and coalition chairman MK Ofir Katz criticised the opposition during the debate, saying, “You caused the coalition to grow from 64 to 68.”

The Times of Israel reported that the vote was 110-0 in favour of a preliminary reading and that Democrats chair Yair Golan said the dissolution would “send home the government of failure that brought upon us the greatest disaster in the country’s history.”

The Times of Israel also described how Netanyahu did not attend the vote, reportedly holding security consultations, while the Knesset House Committee would set an election date on a day no less than three months from final approval.

As the dissolution process moves forward, the sources tie its timing to the conscription fight and to Israel’s war context, with the Knesset set to vote again after committee scrutiny and three more readings before dissolution becomes law.

The National said the current deadline for elections is October 27 and that the dissolution bill needs to go through a committee and then three more readings, while the High Court ruled in June 2024 that there is no legal basis for de facto ultra-Orthodox military exemptions affecting an estimated 80,000 eligible men.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Brig.-Gen. Shai Tayeb, head of the IDF Planning Directorate, said 12,000 soldiers were needed to fill the manpower gap and that by January 2027 the gap is expected to widen to about 17,000.

In the same committee session, Tayeb said, “We are soon expected to reach around 80, 000 to 90,000 draft evaders,” as the renewed discussions unfolded shortly before the vote to dissolve the Knesset.

The Times of Israel added that elections must be held by October 27 and that the dissolution bill does not specify an election date, instead stipulating it be set by the Knesset House Committee on a day no less than three months from the legislation’s final approval.