Bill to dissolve Knesset won’t go up for vote this week after Likud filibuster

After a filibuster by the ruling Likud party, a Blue and White-pushed bill to dissolve the Knesset will not be voted on today or this week, as expected, Hebrew-language media reports say.

Knesset Speaker Yariv Levin had scheduled the first reading vote for the end of today’s plenum session, which has been cut short due to the Hanukkah festival. He has been accused by members of Defense Minister Benny Gantz’s party of acting as a partisan political player.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party opposes the bill since it contains clauses introducing a reduction of about 10% to campaign funding and imposing transparency rules for campaign advertising.

The Knesset is expected to dissolve anyway next week, whether the bill is approved in three readings or not, unless an unlikely compromise is reached regarding the state budget that will prevent the parliament from dissolving automatically on December 23.