Coalition whip Ofir Katz submitted a bill to dissolve the Knesset with the full backing of coalition faction leaders, he announced on Wednesday after the opposition brought forward the same bill on Tuesday amid the crisis in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition over the haredi (ultra-Orthodox) draft bill.
According to the proposal, the date of the elections will be determined during discussions in the Knesset House Committee.
The bill to dissolve the Knesset is expected to be brought for a vote next week on Wednesday, opposition coordinator MK Merav Ben-Ari’s (Yesh Atid) office told The Jerusalem Post earlier on Wednesday.
The move could lead to early elections before October, as the haredi faction Degel Hatorah called for the Knesset to be dissolved over disagreements on the draft bill on Tuesday. The opposition then brought forward bills to disperse the Knesset.
Bennett calls for Knesset to dissolve
Former prime minister Naftali Bennett, a leading rival candidate against Netanyahu in the upcoming election, praised the possibility of dissolving the Knesset. He said that doing so would be” the only good thing this government has done for the people.”
“In recent years, Likud has become the executive arm of [Shas party leader Arye] Deri and [United Torah Judaism leader Yitzhak] Goldknopf, Bennett said.
“An alliance built on harming IDF soldiers is destined to collapse. That is what you are seeing now,” he added.
The remarks came on Tuesday, as Bennett outlined his plans for the country if elected alongside opposition leader Yair Lapid, at the first major campaign event of their newly merged Together party.
