The Israeli Knesset voted in a preliminary reading on a bill to dissolve itself and advance the date for the general elections, by a majority of 61 votes and 54 against, and the bill will need 3 more readings to become effective.
Half of the government’s members voted in favor of the opposition’s proposal against the backdrop of a crisis plaguing the ruling coalition over several issues, most notably the general budget and the activation of the Ministerial Committee for Legislation.
The leader of the Blue and White party - Benny Gantz - had accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of being too busy to remain in power and fortify himself in it in order to evade his trial on corruption charges, while Netanyahu accused Gantz of dragging Israel into unnecessary elections.
Observers believe that Netanyahu is provoking this governance crisis in order to evade the coalition agreement and prevent Gantz from heading the government after nearly a year, and to choose a better date for him to hold the elections.
The bill was submitted by opposition leader in the Knesset, leader of the "There is a future" party, Yair Lapid, to protest the performance of the prime minister's government, and to file a corruption indictment against him.
In response to the bill, David Amsalem, a Likud member of Knesset, said, "Although our position in the polls is excellent, we in Likud are currently against going to the polls. The prime minister and members of the national camp are busy dealing with Corona and the economic crisis, but Gantz does not care about anything. He is not concerned with the budget, but rather about rotating and holding the premiership. "
In this case, Israel is close to holding early elections, which will be the fourth in two years.