Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu votes in the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem in June 2023. (Credit: Menahem Khana/AFP)
In a joint statement, Israeli Knesset opposition parties announced on Wednesday that they will place a bill to dissolve the Knesset on the day's agenda, adding that the decision was “made unanimously and is binding on all factions,” Israeli media reports.
“In addition, in coordination between all factions, it was decided to remove opposition legislation from the agenda in order to concentrate all efforts on one goal: to overthrow the government,” reads the statement, which was released following a meeting of the government's opposition parties.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-line coalition was expected to pack Wednesday's agenda with its own bills in order to delay a preliminary vote on the measure. With his coalition currently holding 68 out of the 120 parliamentary seats, both Haredi parties, Shas and United Torah Judaism, would need to back the measure.
Sources from these two parties told Haaretz that as long as there is no dramatic shift in Likud party's stance on the military conscription bill and as long as there is no agreement made with the ultra-Orthodox leadership, the Haredi parties will back the dissolution of the Knesset and the move towards new elections. Haredi parties want Knesset to pass legislation reinstating blanket military service exemptions for ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students.
According to Times of Israel, however, Shas is "working hard behind the scenes" to postpone the vote and prevent the fall of the government.
Netanyahu cut short his cross-examination at a hearing in his criminal trial on Wednesay morning, one hour into the court session in Tel Aviv, saying he was feeling unwell, Israeli media reported.