Opposition leaders hail 1st vote of process to dissolve Knesset, call to freeze legislation

Opposition leaders hail today’s vote on a preliminary reading to dissolve the Knesset, potentially triggering slightly earlier elections if ultimately passed into law, while urging the coalition to halt the advance of controversial legislation.

Calling today’s vote “the beginning of the end of the worst government in Israel’s history,” Democrats chair Yair Golan says that “it no longer matters whether elections are moved up or held on schedule,” the government that has caused “unprecedented damage” is “nearing the end of its path.”

“These are the October 7 elections,” the left-wing party leader says in a statement, vowing to “send home the government of failure that brought upon us the greatest disaster in the state’s history.”

Blue and White chairman Benny Gantz calls on Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana to halt the advancement of controversial coalition legislation that is underway.

“It is proper and necessary for the Knesset to refrain from advancing controversial legislation with broad public, constitutional, economic and social implications that does not enjoy broad consensus or within the legislature,” Gantz says in a statement, referring in particular to the draft exemption bill for yeshiva students, the media overhaul bill and the bill to split the role of the attorney general.

The coalition is racing to advance contentious legislation before the Knesset dissolves and early elections are triggered. Opponents warn that the legislation, particularly the bill to split the attorney general’s role and significantly curtail the office’s powers, is part of an effort to remove one of the sole checks on executive power just as Israel heads into an election period.