Bill proposal to dissolve Knesset will be approved Wednesday

Following the coalition's decision to disperse the parliament and hold general election on April 9, minister will approve it via phone on Tuesday.

Moran Azulay|Published: 12.24.18 , 21:02

After coalition leaders announced their decision to disperse the Knesset and schedule elections for April 9, the ministers on Tuesday will approve via telephone the bill proposal to dissolve the parliament, which is expected to be approved in second and third reading on Wednesday.

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Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein said the current Knesset had seen offensive discourse and verbal violence.

"I'm hopeful that the election campaign for the 21st Knesset will show the voters what is really important for the people, and won't be characterized by attempts to attack one another," Edelstein said.

Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein in a meeting with opposition members

The decision to go to the polls was apparently made after it became clear that the 61-member coalition, with its one-seat majority, would not be able to pass legislation on the draft of ultra-Orthodox into the army, which had a January 15 deadline. Earlier in the day, opposition parties Yesh Atid and Yisrael Beiteinu made it clear that they did not intend to support the law. Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid called the coalition's hoped-for compromise a payoff to draft dodgers.

"Out of national and budgetary responsibility, the leaders of the coalition parties unanimously decided to dissolve the Knesset and go to new elections in early April after a four-year term," the five coalition party leaders said in a statement. The next elections were scheduled to take place in November 2019.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed the decision to hold April elections, at a faction meeting of his Likud party on Monday afternoon.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (M) at a faction meeting of his Likud party (Photo: Amit Shabi)

"It's perfectly reasonable to go to elections now," said a smiling Netanyahu, pointing out that elections would not have been appropriate a few weeks ago, when Israel was embarking on the IDF mission to locate and destroy Hezbollah attack tunnels dug from Lebanon in Israel.

"Most of (Operation Northern Shield) is behind us. Now we have to go to elections and give the government a mandate to lead the country and to improve its security, economy and society," Netanyahu said.

The prime minister listed his accomplishments in office and said he hoped his current religious, nationalist coalition would be the "core" of the next one as well.

Netanyahu extolled his achievements in the fields of energy, transportation infrastructure and the diplomatic sphere. Israel has enhanced and upgraded its relationship with several African, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries during the last few years.

He also hailed Israel's strong security position referring to the IDF's ongoing Operation Northern Shield to deprive Hezbollah of their attack tunnels, as well as recent developments in the Gaza arena.

The prime minister also praised the vitality of the Israeli economy, the low unemployment rate and a recent minimum wage increase.