MKs advance bill to dissolve Knesset, potentially trigger slightly earlier elections

Netanyahu absent from preliminary vote, which left-wing leader calls ‘beginning of end of worst government in Israel’s history’; bill does not set date for elections, which must in any case be held by Oct. 27

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.”

A Haredi revolt

Wednesday’s vote came after Netanyahu’s erstwhile allies in the United Torah Judaism party announced last week that they would push to dissolve the Knesset over the coalition’s failure to pass legislation codifying military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.

Their decision was made after Netanyahu told Haredi MKs 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.

In response to UTJ’s move to dissolve the Knesset and in an effort to control both the legislative process and the timing of the elections, Katz, who also chairs the Knesset House Committee, last week submitted his own legislation calling for new elections to be held.

The bill was cosponsored by lawmakers from UTJ, Shas, New Hope, Religious Zionism, and the Otzma Yehudit parties. Similar bills were submitted by the opposition as well.

Thirteen separate bills to dissolve the Knesset, sponsored by both opposition and coalition lawmakers, are on Wednesday’s plenum agenda. The various bills will likely be combined before being sent to committee for deliberations ahead of the next of the three Knesset readings they must pass before becoming law.

Lawmakers voted against a dissolution bill sponsored by Hadash-Ta’al chairman Ayman Odeh.

Netanyahu has reportedly urged the ultra-Orthodox parties not to force early elections in September, warning in private conversations that such a timeline would “endanger” the right-wing bloc’s chances of winning.

In an effort to win the Haredim over and avoid a September election date, Netanyahu placed the coalition’s ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill back on the parliamentary agenda, with a discussion taking place Wednesday morning in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.

Netanyahu’s suggestion was rejected by the ultra-Orthodox, however, with Degel HaTorah spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando telling lawmakers earlier this week “not to get drawn into political games and to support the dissolution of the Knesset.”

Speaking with The Times of Israel on Tuesday, Haredi political sources denied claims by officials close to Netanyahu that he had managed to convince a majority of lawmakers to finally pass the controversial exemption bill.

Calls to halt controversial bills

Passing the preliminary reading alone may still complicate the coalition’s legislative agenda for the remainder of the Knesset term, particularly on election-related initiatives such as lowering the voting age or raising the electoral threshold, both measures the coalition has expressed interest in advancing.

The coalition is racing to advance other contentious legislation before the Knesset dissolves and early elections are triggered. Opponents warn that the legislation, particularly a bill to split the attorney general’s role and significantly curtail the office’s powers, is part of an effort to remove one of the sole checks on executive power just as Israel heads into an election period.

Following the vote, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz called on Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to halt the advancement of controversial coalition legislation underway.

“It is proper and necessary for the Knesset to refrain from advancing controversial legislation with broad public, constitutional, economic and social implications that does not enjoy broad consensus or within the legislature,” Gantz said in a statement, referring in particular to the draft exemption bill for yeshiva students, a media overhaul bill and the bill to split the role of the attorney general.

Writing to coalition whip Katz, Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben Ari demanded that the Knesset House Committee convene Wednesday to advance the bill “without delay,” arguing that the legislative process should be expedited “in order to bring about the Knesset’s dissolution as soon as possible.”

Forty-two percent of Israelis who voted for Netanyahu’s Likud party in the previous election are either considering or have decided to back a different party in the next elections, according to a Channel 12 news poll broadcast earlier this month.

The May 7 poll found that if elections were held today, Zionist anti-Netanyahu parties would win 59 seats — two short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The survey said factions that comprise the current coalition would receive 51 seats, while Arab parties would pick up 10.