Knesset Formally Disbands After Coalition's Final Pre-Election Legislative Blitz | Israel Politics Post
Knesset Formally Disbands After Coalition's Final Pre-Election Legislative Blitz
Lawmakers voted 62-0 to dissolve parliament ahead of the October 27 election, capping a session that Speaker Amir Ohana called the most challenging in Israeli history, with a late burst of controversial legislation passed hours before the vote.
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By Israel Politics Post Staff·Published
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Justice Minister Yariv Levin talk in the Knesset hours before parliament dispersed · Source: Yonatan Sindel/Flash90, via The Times of Israel
The Knesset voted to formally dissolve itself ahead of Israel's October 27 election, The Times of Israel reported, closing out a legislative session that came after the coalition pushed through its remaining agenda in a final burst of activity. The dissolution motion passed 62-0 with only coalition support, tied to a party-financing bill that raised public campaign funding.
Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana described the outgoing 25th Knesset as "the most challenging" in the country's history, pointing to the widespread protest movements and what he called "the longest and most difficult war in the country's history" that unfolded during its term.
In its final session, the coalition passed a string of contested measures, including the law stripping power from the attorney general, the media overhaul law, an expansion of gender segregation in academia, and a temporary ban on prosecuting ultra-Orthodox draft evaders. Hours before dissolving, lawmakers also extended mandatory military service for male soldiers to 32 months from 30, short of the 36 months the IDF itself had requested to address manpower shortages from the ongoing multi-front conflict.
Opposition leader Avigdor Liberman criticized the party-financing provision attached to the dissolution bill as a "contemptible attempt to tie the end of the session to increasing party funding."
