The coalition’s bill to dissolve the Knesset is scheduled to be brought forward for its first vote in the plenum on Wednesday amid the crisis in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition with the ultra-Orthodox parties over the haredi draft bill.
Passage of the bill would begin the process to move the election date forward slightly from October 27.
Coalition Whip Ofir Katz’s office confirmed to The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday that the vote is set for Wednesday. Katz had submitted the dissolution bill last week with the backing of coalition factions.
The opposition will still bring forward a separate Knesset dissolution bill of its own for a vote on Wednesday, opposition coordinator MK Meirav Ben-Ari’s (Yesh Atid) spokesperson told the Post on Tuesday.
If the coalition’s bill passes in the Knesset plenum, it will be brought to the Knesset’s House Committee for debate and would 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.
Knesset dissolution requires 90 days before voting can occur
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.
The haredi parties may make an agreement with Netanyahu to vote in favor of the coalition’s bill, rather than the opposition’s, Dr. Assaf Shapira, an expert at the Israel Democracy Institute and head of the Political Reform Program, told the Post last week.
Shapira added that the coalition’s bill, rather than the opposition’s proposal, passing grants the government greater control over the process of dissolving the Knesset and determining the election date.
Ahead of the vote, the controversial haredi draft bill is scheduled to return to the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee for debate early Wednesday morning.
Pushing to move forward with the draft bill, after progress on it was halted, is seen as Netanyahu's final effort to persuade the haredi parties not to vote in favor of dissolving the Knesset.
Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel (New Hope-United Right) told the Post on Sunday that coalition lawmakers were under “massive pressure” from Netanyahu’s coalition to support the haredi draft legislation. She added that one of the aspects of the pressure was the threat to “publicly shame Likud members who vote against the law.”
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.
Coalition tensions mount over draft legislation
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.
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.
Military and parliamentary priorities guide timing of elections
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.
The bill to split the role of the attorney-general into different positions was approved to be advanced on Tuesday ahead of its first reading after months of debate in the Knesset’s Constitution, Law and Justice Committee.
Shortly after the vote, another committee meeting on the contentious bill to establish a politically appointed investigative committee to probe government failures during the October 7 massacre took place.
Marathon committee meetings have been conducted this week on the communications reform bill, which calls for sweeping reforms to Israel’s broadcasting sector and still must pass its second and third readings.
The controversial bill to grant the Chief Rabbinate authority to determine prayer arrangements at the Western Wall will also be brought before a Knesset panel for advancement for the first time on Wednesday.
Bills have been rushed to at least pass their first reading before the dissolution so they can continue from where they left off, due to the Knesset’s continuity motion policy.
If the bill does not pass its first reading, then when the new Knesset is formed, the legislation does not hold that status, and progress on it would be reversed.