The coalition’s bill to dissolve the Knesset passed its preliminary reading on Wednesday in the Knesset plenum, amid the crisis in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with the ultra-Orthodox parties over the haredi draft bill. Passage of the bill begins the process to move the election date forward slightly from October 27.
The coalition’s bill will now be brought to the Knesset’s House Committee for debate and will need to pass a total of three readings to come into effect.
The bill proposes to determine the election date in debates held in the committee.
The opposition will still bring forward a separate Knesset dissolution bill of its own for a vote afterwards.
The coalition bringing forward the dissolution bill, rather than the opposition, grants the government greater control over the process of dissolving the Knesset and determining the election date.
Even if elections are moved forward from the current scheduled date of October 27, they cannot take place in August because at least 90 days must pass after a Knesset dissolution bill is approved before elections can be held.
This means the election date could be moved up to either September or mid-October.
Controversial haredi draft bill returned for debate
Ahead of the vote, the controversial haredi draft bill returned for debate in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee early Wednesday morning.
Pushing to move forward with the draft bill, after progress on it was halted, was seen as Netanyahu’s final effort to persuade the haredi parties not to vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset.
Despite plans to resume advancement of the draft bill, Degel Hatorah spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando and MK Moshe Gafni met on Sunday evening and stated that their position in favor of dissolving the Knesset remained unchanged.
Lando’s spokesperson told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that his stance to dissolve the Knesset was the same.
The coalition tensions began on Tuesday last week after Netanyahu reportedly told the haredi parties that the draft legislation did not currently have enough support within the coalition to pass. This led the parties to push for the Knesset to be dissolved.
Degel Hatorah’s spiritual leader wrote in a letter to the faction’s Knesset members that, “We no longer have trust in Netanyahu.”
The haredi draft bill currently being advanced in the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee remains highly controversial. Critics argue that the legislation is primarily intended to appease the haredi parties in Netanyahu’s coalition and would do little to increase enlistment. A group of coalition MKs has vowed not to vote for it for that reason.
Urgent manpower shortage after more than two years of war
The IDF has repeatedly warned of an urgent manpower shortage, particularly after more than two years of war.
There are numerous reports that the haredi parties are seeking to set the election date in September, ahead of the High Holy Days, to increase haredi voter turnout.
Netanyahu reportedly opposed the move and instead sought to keep elections in late October, allowing the coalition more time to advance legislation during the Knesset’s final session and potentially achieve military goals.
The coalition has fast-tracked several controversial bills this week, scheduling marathon committee meetings to advance as much legislation as possible ahead of a potential Knesset dissolution.
