Coalition submits bill to dissolve Knesset following loss of Haredi support, opposition attempts to do the same

Date for new elections to be determined by Knesset House Committee in coming days

All Israel News Staff | Published: May 13, 2026

Screengrab via Youtube

Coalition Chairman Ofir Katz of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party submitted a bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset on Wednesday evening, which was signed by all the leaders of the coalition parties.

The move came one day after ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) leaders called for dissolving the Knesset and holding early elections over the coalition’s failure to pass a new IDF draft law that would preserve broad exemptions from military service for yeshiva students.

The bill was co-sponsored by lawmakers from the two major Haredi blocs, United Torah Judaism and Shas, as well as members of the New Hope party of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, Religious Zionism, and Jewish Power parties.

Opposition parties, which seek to move elections quickly to exploit weakening support for some coalition partners, announced their support for the bill.

Earlier on Wednesday, following the call to dissolve the Knesset, the coalition had pulled all its bills from the floor to prevent their defeat, which could lead to a vote of no confidence.

According to Katz’s bill, elections will take place within three months of the bill’s passage, with the final date to be determined by a vote in the Knesset House Committee. By law, the elections must take place within five months of the passage of a bill to dissolve the Knesset, which means voting could be held by mid-October at the latest, just days before the scheduled Oct. 27 deadline for elections.

Hebrew media reported that ultra-Orthodox leaders signed the proposal, but have not agreed on a date for the elections.

While the bill was submitted on Wednesday night, the earliest a vote could be held is Monday, however, with opposition parties supporting the dissolution of the Knesset, the bill is expected to pass.

At the same time, several opposition groups announced their intention to submit bills to dissolve the Knesset on Wednesday as well. The coalition’s submission of its own bill appears to be an attempt to exercise control over the process and timing of the elections.

Opposition politicians expressed their support for the move on social media, with opposition head Yair Lapid posting on X: “We are ready. Together.”

The new party bloc that Lapid created with former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is called Beyachad, “Together.”

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz, who has seen several significant defections from his party over the past few weeks, wrote to social media, “This is the beginning of the end for the worst government in Israel’s history, and the sooner the better.”

“But the question is not only when the elections will be, but mainly what will be here after them,” Gantz continued. “After the upcoming elections, the State of Israel must establish a broad Zionist unity government that will lead Israel forward.”