Israel officially entered election season early Friday morning after the Knesset voted to dissolve itself, bringing the 25th Knesset to an end following hours of political drama, frantic efforts to locate missing lawmakers, and intense last-minute pressure by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to secure the votes needed for passage.

The final vote marked the conclusion of a turbulent overnight session in which coalition leaders scrambled to assemble the required majority. Several coalition members were absent from the plenum and unreachable by phone, prompting an urgent search to bring them back for the decisive vote. Netanyahu and senior coalition officials became personally involved in the effort to ensure the bill’s approval.

In the final moments before the vote, the coalition secured the crucial 61st vote needed to pass the dissolution measure. MKs Galit Distel Atbaryan and Avi Maoz were summoned to the Knesset late at night and arrived in time to cast their votes in favor of dissolving the legislature.

Behind the scenes, the coalition also had to overcome a dispute with Shas. After direct appeals from Prime Minister Netanyahu, the party ultimately agreed to support dissolving the Knesset, providing the votes necessary to complete the process.

Earlier in the evening, Shas Chairman Aryeh Deri had walked out of the plenum along with his party’s lawmakers after learning that opposition parties would not support legislation to increase public funding for political parties. Explaining his decision, Deri said, “I will teach the opposition a lesson. They are always saying the Chareidim only want money. We don’t need this money.”

He continued, “Shas is the most organized party and has no debts. They want this law more than we do, but they want us to pass it, take all the criticism, and then they will receive the money. That is not going to happen.”

Despite the internal disagreements and dramatic final hours, the coalition ultimately succeeded in completing the legislative process to dissolve the Knesset. Israel’s political system has now officially entered the next election campaign, which will conclude with the swearing-in of the 26th Knesset.