Coalition submits bill to dissolve Knesset following loss of Haredi support, opposition attempts to do the same
Date for new elections to be determined by Knesset House Committee in coming days
Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz, from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, submitted a bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset on Wednesday evening, which was signed by all the leaders of the coalition parties.
The move came one day after ultra-Orthodox leaders called for dissolving the Knesset and holding early elections due to the coalition’s failure to pass a new IDF draft law, which they want to ensure broad exemptions from military service for yeshiva students.
The bill was cosponsored by lawmakers from the two major Haredi blocs, United Torah Judaism and Shas, as well as members of the New Hope party of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Religious Zionism, and Jewish Power parties.
Opposition parties, who are looking to move to elections quickly to exploit weakening support for some coalition partners, announced their support for the bill.
Earlier on Wednesday, following the call of the Haredi party heads for dissolving the Knesset, the coalition had pulled all its bills from the floor to prevent their defeat, which could lead to a vote of no confidence.
According to Katz's bill, elections will take place within three months of the bill’s passage, with the final date being determined by a vote in the Knesset House Committee. By law, the elections must take place within five months of the passage of a bill to dissolve the Knesset, which would mean that, at the latest, elections would be held by mid-October, just days before the pre-existing October 27 deadline for elections.
According to reports in Hebrew media, the heads of the ultra-Orthodox factions signed the proposal but have not agreed on a date for the elections.
While the bill was submitted on Wednesday night, the earliest that a vote could be held is Monday. However, with opposition parties supporting the dissolution of the Knesset, the bill is expected to pass.
At the same time, several opposition groups also announced their intention to submit bills to dissolve the Knesset on Wednesday. The coalition’s submission of its own bill appears to be an attempt to exercise control over the process and timing of the elections.
Opposition politicians expressed their support for the move onboard social media, with opposition head Yair Lapid posting a note to X, which read, “We are ready. Together.”
The new party bloc which Lapid created with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennet is called Beyachad, Hebrew for “Together.”
— יאיר לפיד - Yair Lapid (@yairlapid) May 13, 2026
Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, who has seen several significant defections from his party over the past few weeks, wrote to social media, “This is the beginning of the end for the worst government in Israel's history, and the sooner the better.”
“But the question is not only when the elections will be, but mainly what will be here after them,” Gantz continued. “After the upcoming elections, the State of Israel must establish a broad Zionist unity government that will lead Israel forward.”
The All Israel News Staff is a team of journalists in Israel.
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