After ultra-Orthodox parties said they had lost trust in the premier, Ofir Katz, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition whip, submitted a bill on Wednesday to dissolve the Knesset.
The bill, which was signed by the heads of all coalition factions and is expected to be put to a vote next week, proposes that “the 25th Knesset shall dissolve before the end of its term,” triggering a possibly slightly early snap election.
“Elections for the 26th Knesset shall be held on a date determined by the Knesset House Committee, provided that it is no fewer than 90 days from the day this law is passed,” it adds.
The dissolution bill submitted by the ruling Likud, United Torah Judaism, Shas, New Hope, Religious Zionism and Otzma Yehudit parties is intended to give the coalition control over the election date.
Opposition parties on Tuesday had submitted their own dissolution bills, calling on Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to hold an initial vote as early as Wednesday.
“The Knesset has ceased to function,” Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid (Yesh Atid Party) tweeted on Wednesday after the coalition pulled all of its legislative initiatives due to a lack of a parliamentary majority.
“We will begin the dissolution process next week, and set out on the path toward fixing the state,” vowed Lapid.
The moves came after Rabbi Dov Lando, a leading figure in the Jewish state’s Lithuanian Haredi community, ordered ultra-Orthodox lawmakers to “work toward dissolving the Knesset as soon as possible.”
“From this point onward, we will do only what is good for the Haredi community and the world of Torah study,” Lando announced in a statement cited by Ynet .
“We have no trust in Netanyahu,” he added.
Lando, 96, is the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox) Degel Hatorah faction within the United Torah Judaism Party.
Lawmakers from Degel HaTorah had earlier been summoned to Lando’s home after Netanyahu told Haredi parties there was no majority to pass legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox yeshivah students from Israel Defense Forces service before general elections due by Oct. 27, Channel 12 News reported.
The election will thus be held sometime between late August and Oct. 27.
Israel’s coalition government in March moved to pass the 2026 state budget without a highly debated draft exemption law, which was temporarily shelved.
“We are now putting aside controversial issues that are not suitable for wartime,” said Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, citing the legislation that would exempt Haredi yeshivah students from military service as well as several unspecified proposed reforms.
The enlistment bill that was under consideration reflects Netanyahu’s attempt to forge a compromise with his Haredi political partners.
However, two weeks ago, Israel’s Supreme Court, sitting as the High Court of Justice, ordered the government to take a series of measures against ultra-Orthodox draft evaders, in response to petitions accusing the state of contempt of court for failing to enforce existing conscription laws.
The decision came in the wake of a November ruling ordering the state to formulate sanctions to enforce military conscription, stressing that government benefits should not be granted to those evading service.
Israel’s ultra-Orthodox sector generally considers national service a distraction from Torah study and a threat to their way of life. However, Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, onslaught on Israel and the ensuing War of Redemption have heightened demands by the general public that Haredim contribute to the Jewish nation’s defense.
Between 63,000 and 66,000 young Haredi men studying in yeshivahs are legally required to serve. Since the Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel, more than 1,000 haredim have voluntarily enlisted, and a similar number have volunteered for civilian national service.
