Speaker Reuven Rivlin
Speaker Reuven RivlinIsrael news photo: Flash 90

"There is no doubt that the political decision has been made and the political parties are all preparing for elections," Knesset Speaker MK Reuven Rivlin (Likud) estimated Thursday, at an event honoring the community of Migron.

"If, indeed, we are headed for elections, the Knesset had better pass the law and dissolve immediately, in the first days or even the first hours of the winter term, and not drag out the decision for weeks on end," he explained.

"We are in the midst of a global economic crisis that threatens to engulf Israel, and without a budget for 2013, and this has ruinous implications for the socio-economic situation and the weaker population. The economic situation makes it impossible for the state to exist without an approved budget, therefore elections should be held as soon as possible."

Rivlin estimated that elections will be held in the second or third week of February.