Bill to Dissolve Knesset Headed for Vote on Wednesday

A bill dissolving the 24th Knesset will be brought to a vote on Wednesday, marking the most serious challenge to the government since it was formed just over a year ago.

The bill, which if passed would force Israel into its fifth election in a row since 2019, will be raised for a vote in the Knesset on Wednesday.

The Likud is pushing the bill, despite continuing uncertainty regarding its chances of securing a majority.

Opposition efforts to topple the government and force new elections will rely on the support of rebel Yamina MK Nir Orbach, who last week announced that he would no longer support the coalition.

But Orbach has yet to endorse the bill dissolving the Knesset, wavering on snap elections as he instead negotiated with the Likud for the formation of some kind of alternative government in the current Knesset.

According to Likud officials cited by Maariv on Monday, the party has settled on a Wednesday vote for the bill, despite having yet to receive a clear answer from Orbach on how he intends to vote.

Should the Likud find that it lacks a majority for the bill, however, it is expected to table the proposal prior to Wednesday’s vote.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett himself hinted that the government may be nearing dissolution, warning Yamina faction members Sunday that if the coalition cannot secure a majority for the Yehudah and Shomron Law in the next two weeks, the government will collapse.

According to a report by Kan, several sources who attended Bennett’s meeting with Yamina MKs said that the Prime Minister said that another attempt would be made to approve the law, but if it does not pass in the next two weeks, it means “the story is over.”

The Yehudah and Shomron Law, a temporary order applying Israeli law in Area C of Yehudah and Shomron via the Defense Ministry’s Civil Administration, has been regularly extended every five years by the Knesset, allowing Israelis living in the area to enjoy the rights of Israeli residency.

Opposition MKs have vowed to block the law’s extension, however, in an attempt to topple the government, which is relying on the support of left-wing and Arab factions opposed to the law.