Calling the vote \u201cthe beginning of the end of the worst government in Israel\u2019s history,\u201d Democrats chair Yair Golan said that \u201cit no longer matters whether elections are moved up or held on schedule\u201d; the government that has caused \u201cunprecedented damage\u201d is \u201cnearing the end of its path.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t \u201cThese are the October 7 elections,\u201d the left-wing party leader declared in a statement, vowing to \u201csend home the government of failure that brought upon us the greatest disaster in the country\u2019s history.\u201d<\/p>\n Addressing lawmakers, coalition whip Ofir Katz insisted that the \u201ccoalition has served its purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have passed nine budgets in this term and 520 laws. Regarding the conscription law, we will pass a law that comes through dialogue and meets the needs of the IDF,\u201d Katz said. \u201cThe value of Torah study must be maintained, and at the same time, those who do not study will enlist.\u201d<\/p>\n A Haredi revolt<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s vote came after Netanyahu\u2019s erstwhile allies in the United Torah Judaism party announced<\/a> last week that they would push to dissolve the Knesset over the coalition\u2019s failure to pass legislation codifying military conscription exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.<\/p>\n Their decision was made after Netanyahu told Haredi MKs that the coalition currently doesn\u2019t have the votes to pass the draft exemption legislation, and reportedly asked them to agree to shelve the bill until after the elections.<\/p>\n In response to UTJ\u2019s move to dissolve the Knesset and in an effort to control both the legislative process and the timing of the elections, Katz, who also chairs the Knesset House Committee, last week submitted<\/a> his own legislation calling for new elections to be held.<\/p>\n The bill was cosponsored by lawmakers from UTJ, Shas, New Hope, Religious Zionism, and the Otzma Yehudit parties. Similar bills were submitted by the opposition as well.<\/p>\n \t Thirteen separate bills to dissolve the Knesset, sponsored by both opposition and coalition lawmakers, are on Wednesday\u2019s plenum agenda. The various bills will likely be combined before being sent to committee for deliberations ahead of the next of the three Knesset readings they must pass before becoming law.<\/p>\n Lawmakers voted against a dissolution bill sponsored by Hadash-Ta\u2019al chairman Ayman Odeh.<\/p>\n Netanyahu has reportedly urged the ultra-Orthodox parties not to force early elections in September, warning in private conversations that such a timeline would \u201cendanger\u201d the right-wing bloc\u2019s chances of winning.<\/p>\n In an effort to win the Haredim over and avoid a September election date, Netanyahu placed the coalition\u2019s ultra-Orthodox draft exemption bill back on the parliamentary agenda<\/a>, with a discussion taking place Wednesday morning in the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.<\/p>\n Netanyahu\u2019s suggestion was rejected by the ultra-Orthodox, however, with Degel HaTorah spiritual leader Rabbi Dov Lando telling lawmakers earlier this week \u201cnot to get drawn into political games and to support the dissolution of the Knesset.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking with The Times of Israel on Tuesday, Haredi political sources denied claims by officials close to Netanyahu that he had managed to convince a majority of lawmakers to finally pass the controversial exemption bill.<\/p>\n Calls to halt controversial bills<\/p>\n Passing the preliminary reading alone may still complicate the coalition\u2019s legislative agenda for the remainder of the Knesset term, particularly on election-related initiatives such as lowering the voting age or raising the electoral threshold, both measures the coalition has expressed interest in advancing.<\/p>\n The coalition is racing to advance other contentious legislation before the Knesset dissolves and early elections are triggered. Opponents warn that the legislation, particularly a bill to split the attorney general\u2019s role and significantly curtail the office\u2019s powers, is part of an effort to remove one of the sole checks on executive power just as Israel heads into an election period.<\/p>\n Following the vote, Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz called on Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to halt the advancement of controversial coalition legislation underway.<\/p>\n \t \u201cIt is proper and necessary for the Knesset to refrain from advancing controversial legislation with broad public, constitutional, economic and social implications that does not enjoy broad consensus or within the legislature,\u201d Gantz said in a statement, referring in particular to the draft exemption bill for yeshiva students, a media overhaul bill and the bill to split the role of the attorney general.<\/p>\n Writing to coalition whip Katz, Yesh Atid MK Merav Ben Ari demanded that the Knesset House Committee convene Wednesday to advance the bill \u201cwithout delay,\u201d arguing that the legislative process should be expedited \u201cin order to bring about the Knesset\u2019s dissolution as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n Forty-two percent of Israelis who voted for Netanyahu\u2019s Likud party in the previous election are either considering or have decided to back a different party in the next elections, according to a Channel 12 news poll broadcast earlier this month.<\/p>\n The May 7 poll<\/a> found that if elections were held today, Zionist anti-Netanyahu parties would win 59 seats \u2014 two short of a majority in the 120-seat Knesset. The survey said factions that comprise the current coalition would receive 51 seats, while Arab parties would pick up 10.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\tCoalition whip Ofir Katz addresses the Knesset ahead of a vote to dissolve parliament, May 20, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/F260520YS124-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tUltra-Orthodox lawmakers attend a vote to dissolve the Knesset, May 20, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel\/Flash90)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/D_ST1356-1-e1764070619799-640x400.jpg\")
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\n\t\tYesh Atid MK Merav Ben-Ari addresses the Knesset plenum, June 25, 2025. (Dani Shem-Tov\/ Office of the Knesset Spokesperson)<\/p>\n
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