Netanyahu’s coalition took a first step toward new elections in Israel on Wednesday by submitting legislation to dissolve the parliament, the Associated Press reported. The measure is designed to clear the way for a formal vote that would end the current Knesset term and schedule balloting later this year, according to the report.
Israeli media said the next stage would likely come through a preliminary vote expected next week, setting up a timeline that would follow once the dissolution bill is approved. The proposal would then determine when elections occur, with the government looking ahead to the statutory end of its current four-year term.
The outgoing coalition, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is close to the end of its mandate and faces a deadline of holding new elections by the end of October. With that constraint in view, the coalition’s action Wednesday reflects a political push to manage the timing rather than waiting for the latest possible date.
Some of Netanyahu’s ultra-Orthodox governing partners urged the prime minister to move the election date up slightly. The report said those partners wanted elections pushed toward early September, rather than later in the fall.
The bill itself includes a timing mechanism that limits how quickly the vote can translate into an election date. It calls for elections “no less than 90 days” after the bill is approved, a structure that gives Netanyahu room to choose a date when he believes his coalition has the best chance.
AP’s account also placed the vote step against the backdrop of a turbulent term in Israeli politics, one that included the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and wars involving Israel in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Opinion polls cited in the report have indicated the coalition—made up of religious and nationalist parties—could struggle to win reelection, as the political system prepares to transition again.