Israeli Parliament to Dissolve Itself, Elections Could Be Called Faster

JAKARTA - The Israeli Parliament, the Knesset, on Monday (1/6) evening approved the first reading of a bill (RUU) to dissolve itself which could pave the way for early elections.

According to Channel 12's report, 106 of the 120 Knesset members voted in favor of the bill, while none of the members voted against it.

As reported by ANTARA from Anadolu, Tuesday, June 2, the approval is a first step in the legislative process that can end the parliamentary term before the scheduled election.

Israeli news site Wallamelaporkan the bill includes the possibility of elections being held between September 8 and October 20.

Differences in views on the timing of the election still emerged among political parties.

The ultra-Orthodox Shas party is pushing for the election to be held on September 15, while Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party wants to delay it until the end of the current parliamentary term.

Israel's legislative elections were originally scheduled for October 27. However, pressure to call them earlier increased after the government failed to pass legislation exempting ultra-Orthodox Jews from military service.

Based on Israeli law, the bill to dissolve parliament still has to pass three reading stages before being enacted into law.

The Walla report said that after obtaining approval at the first reading, the bill would be returned to the Knesset committee to be prepared for a vote at the second and third readings, as well as setting a date for the election.