Coalition Leaders Push Netanyahu to Dissolve the Knesset This Week

Senior figures in the governing coalition are pressuring Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to dissolve the Knesset as early as this week, citing the political damage they say is being caused by ongoing ultra-Orthodox legislation. Their argument is that continued progress on these bills is undermining the coalition’s standing, and that moving to a transitional government would stop the process before the damage worsens.

According to the article, the election date would not change even if the Knesset is dissolved now. The vote is still expected to take place on October 20, so the timing of the election would remain the same while the government shifts into caretaker status.

The lawmakers pushing for dissolution specifically want to halt several controversial initiatives, including the day-care subsidies bill, a Basic Law on Torah study, and legislation granting exemption to ultra-Orthodox men defined as draft evaders. They believe it is better to call elections than to pay the public and political price of advancing those measures.

Netanyahu has not yet decided whether to accept the demand. If the Knesset is dissolved this week, the move would also remove from the agenda the communications bill, the split of the attorney general’s role, and the override clause.