House Committee Approve Discussions on Dissolution of Knesset; Another Step Toward Elections

By: Aryeh Savir

The Knesset’s House Committee voted to approve the discussion of the two separate bills calling for the dispersal of the 23rd Knesset and the holding of early elections.

The bills, sponsored by Member of Knesset Yair Lapid of Yesh Atid-Telem​ and MK Nitzan Horowitz of Meretz, both members of the opposition, passed their preliminary readings in the Knesset plenum last Wednesday.

Representatives of the coalition from the Likud, Shas and Torah Judaism parties boycotted the vote.

At the end of a heated debate, the decision to hold the deliberations on the bill in the House Committee was approved by a vote of 10-0, with one abstention.

Coalition Chairman MK Miki Zohar attacked Blue and White for its support of the bill, saying that “it is not too late [to prevent elections]. You can still change your attitude.”

“This is an unnecessary election campaign, in the midst of the Corona crisis. Elections at this time are a health hazard for the citizens of Israel, you are endangering the health of the citizens of Israel, just to harm [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu,” he charged.

This vote is another procedural step towards dissolving the Knesset and sending Israel to the fourth round of elections in almost two years’ time.

A bill to disperse the Knesset would require three votes in the Knesset plenum and three votes in the Knesset House Committee to become law.

This initial phase sets a course that can still be averted if Netanyahu’s Likud and Blue and White yet again achieve some sort of understanding.

One way or another, if the government does not present a budget by December 23, it falls by default.

From its inception, the government has been squabbling over almost every issue, and the current issue at hand is primarily the timing of the passing of the 2021 budget.

Polls show that Netanyahu’s Likud is in the lead with about 30 seats while Blue and White has lost most of its power and has about 10 seats.

(TPS)