Israel's Knesset Backs Dissolution Bill 110-0 in Preliminary Vote as Haredi Draft Crisis Cracks Netanyahu Coalition

On 20 May 2026 Israel's Knesset advanced a bill to dissolve itself in a preliminary reading carried by roughly 110 of 120 lawmakers in favour with none against, a striking show of cross-aisle support reflecting the near-collapse of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition. The trigger was the long-running dispute over military conscription: ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) parties accused Netanyahu of failing to deliver promised legislation exempting yeshiva students from mandatory service, after he told them the draft-exemption bill lacked sufficient coalition support to pass.

The Degel HaTorah faction moved to push dissolution, and coalition whip/chairman Ofir Katz declared 'this coalition has completed its days.' Opposition parties had separately prepared their own dissolution bills; Democrats leader Yair Golan framed early elections as accountability for the 7 October security failures. Analysts cautioned the maneuver was partly tactical: by submitting its own dissolution legislation, the coalition sought to control election timing and deny the opposition the initiative, and several outlets (Times of Israel) characterized the episode as jockeying for leverage rather than a settled ballot date.

The bill required committee work to set a date plus three further plenum readings before final passage; if enacted, elections would follow within 90 days, moving the vote up modestly from the scheduled late-October 2026 horizon. As of early June the dissolution had not received final approval.