From the Liveblog of
Monday, June 1, 2026
Lawmakers vote to advance dissolution of Knesset; 1st plenum vote later today
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleSam Sokol is a former political correspondent at The Times of Israel. He was previously a reporter for the Jerusalem Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz. He is the author of "Putin’s Hybrid War and the Jews"
Lawmakers on the Knesset House Committee vote 8-0 to advance the coalition’s bill to dissolve the Knesset, which will advance to its first reading in the plenum this afternoon.
Due to internal coalition disagreements, chairman and coalition whip Ofir Katz states that the bill will advance without specifying a date for early elections. This will be inserted into the legislation prior to the final two readings needed for it to pass into law. In the meantime, Katz only says that the range of dates will be somewhere between September 8 and October 26.
Elections must be held within five months of the law’s passing, which would mean mid- to late-October at the latest. The Knesset’s ultra-Orthodox parties reportedly favor an election date in early September during the run-up to the high holidays. Elections must, in any case, be held by October 27.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly urged the ultra-Orthodox parties not to force early elections in September, warning in private conversations that such a timeline would “endanger” the right-wing bloc’s chances of winning.
The Times of Israel Community.