Yair Lapid and members of Yesh Atid
Yair Lapid and members of Yesh AtidYoav Dudkowitz/TPS

In light of the ongoing political crisis over the Draft Law, the Yesh Atid party has renewed its efforts to dissolve the Knesset.

Over the past 24 hours, Yesh Atid has begun attempts to collect 61 signatures from opposition MKs, for the purpose of submitting a letter to Knesset Speaker MK Amir Ohana demanding a renewed discussion on the bill to dissolve the Knesset, despite the bill's failure a month ago.

According to the Knesset rules, a bill that has failed in a plenary session cannot be brought for a vote for another six months. Yesh Atid is now attempting to bypass this limitation by arguing that there has been a "change of circumstances" that justifies reopening the discussion.

The opposition will argue that, in light of the crisis with the haredi parties over the Draft Law, the government is incapable of passing any legislation in the Knesset due to the lack of a majority.

The previous proposal failed after the haredi factions opposed it, following a compromise reached with Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein on the Draft Law, just prior to Israel's strike in Iran.

Now, with tensions escalating between the haredim and the coalition, and a deadlock over the Draft Law's passage, Yesh Atid sees a new opportunity.

According to the rules, only if 61 Knesset members sign the letter will it be possible to make an official request to the Knesset Speaker. However, even if such support is achieved, the final authority on whether a change of circumstances has occurred rests with Ohana himself, who is considered close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The opposition is aware that Ohana may reject the request, especially since there are only about two weeks left until the Knesset breaks for the summer recess.

Nonetheless, Yesh Atid sees this move as a test for the haredi factions, which have already signaled a cooling of relations with the coalition over the lack of progress on the Draft Law.

The haredi parties are expected to discuss Yesh Atid’s legislative initiative on Monday.