The Israeli coalition on Tuesday pushed up its timeline for Knesset disbandment, adding its dispersal bill to Wednesday’s legislative agenda, Times of Israel reported.
The Knesset Presidium approved the addition, and the Knesset House Committee granted the bill an exemption from the traditional 45-day waiting period between submission and an initial vote.
The earliest the Knesset can disband is Wednesday, although a more likely scenario would be Monday of next week, as the matter must pass four plenum votes and two committee reviews.
On Monday evening, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid surprised the nation - and many of their own coalition members - by announcing their intention to voluntarily disband their own government and send the country back to its fifth election since 2019, likely in late October or early November.
They said they did so after coming to a conclusion that there was no way to maintain the current government.
Once the Knesset’s disbandment is finalized, Lapid will assume the premiership and Bennett will rotate to alternate prime minister, a title that Lapid currently holds. Although the Knesset will largely cease to legislate, the government will remain in place until a new one is sworn in, post elections.
The two leaders initially said that they planned to bring a bill to disperse the Knesset to a vote next week, but following opposition efforts to bring their own bill forward on Wednesday, the coalition expedited its timeline.
