The Knesset plenum on Wednesday afternoon held a dramatic discussion and preliminary reading vote on a coalition bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset.
A total of 110 MKs supported the proposal, with no opponents or abstentions.
The move is being led by the haredi parties following the coalition's failure to advance the Draft Law in the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
As part of the political understandings reached, a bill to dissolve the Knesset submitted by the Blue and White faction is also expected to pass in a preliminary reading in the plenum.
According to parliamentary procedure, the bills approved in the current afternoon vote will not lead to the immediate dissolution of the Knesset, but will first be transferred for further discussions and drafting in the Knesset Committee.
After the committee discussion is completed, the bills will be returned to the Knesset plenum, to be voted on in their first reading. If they pass the first reading, they will again be transferred to the committee for final preparations, and only later will be brought for final approval in the plenum in their second and third readings.
If one of the laws is approved in its third reading, the official date for Israel’s elections will also be set.
According to the coalition bill's explanatory notes, “It is proposed to determine, in accordance with Sections 34 and 35 of Basic Law: The Knesset, that the 25th Knesset will disperse before the end of its term, and that the elections for the 26th Knesset will be held on a date to be determined by law, as proposed by the Knesset Committee as part of the legislative process."