The Knesset plenum on Wednesday approved the bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset in a preliminary reading by a vote of 110-0, leading to possible early elections.

The bill will now be sent to Knesset committees before returning to the plenum for subsequent readings.

A separate dissolution bill submitted by the Blue and White party and supported by the Chareidi parties also passed its preliminary reading. The Chareidi parties supported the bill in order to join a process that is not under the control of the coalition.

At the same time, the coalition is making a last-minute attempt to pass a draft law. Earlier on Wednesday, the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee held the first of the final three discussions required for committee approval of the bill.

An election date will be set only after the bill passes in its third reading. The Chareidi parties are pushing for elections to be held in early September, while Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wants to push them off until late October.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)