Likud MK May Slow Down Rush to Dissolve Knesset

YERUSHALAYIM
israel elections
Zionist Camp MK Yoel Hasson (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

The rush to dissolve the Knesset ahead of elections may not take place on Wednesday, as initially planned.

The Knesset House Committee chair, Likud MK Miki Zohar, has said that more time is needed to complete outstanding legislative work first, and that it can be done without affecting the April 9 date already selected for elections, according to The Times of Israel on Tuesday.

If Zohar can, as committee chairman, delay the procedure, it will presumably only be with the say-so of Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, with whom he is closely allied.

By law, only 90 days must be elapse between a Knesset vote to dissolve itself and new elections. If the Knesset votes to dissolve Wednesday, it would leave 105 days until elections. Accordingly, the MKs could still take advantage of another 15 days before ending the session, allowing time to finish the work, rather than leaving it over for the next Knesset.

“The Knesset must serve the State of Israel and not the politicians,” Zohar said, telling his colleagues to “open up your calendars and set the date accordingly.”

The idea was not immediately embraced by the opposition, however.

Zionist Camp Knesset faction chair MK Yoel Hasson said the Likud MK was trying “to waste precious time at the expense of Israeli citizens in order to promote laws that are contrary to the public interest.”

Hasson added that the opposition “will not allow Netanyahu’s emissaries to try to stop the train that has already left the station by stalling with excuses and bureaucracy.”

The Knesset could circumvent any delays if enough votes can be mustered for a no-confidence motion, which does not require committee approval.

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