Smotrich urges allies not to dissolve Knesset before passage of legislation weakening attorney general’s authority

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich calls on members of the governing coalition to hold off on dissolving the Knesset and calling early elections until legislation is passed to weaken the authority of the attorney general.

His remarks come after Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara announced the indictment of a top aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a move which Smotrich says proves that her power is “corruptive and predatory” and “poses a danger to democracy and civil rights in Israel.”

He says that holding off until legislation that significantly weakens Baharav-Miara’s authority is a “strategic move” that the government would be wrong to miss out on.

Lawmakers are set to vote Monday on the first reading of a coalition bill to dissolve the Knesset, potentially triggering slightly earlier elections.

Smotrich’s Religious Zionism has been polling below or at the electoral threshold for months.

Earlier, his party shared an image of several opposition party leaders wearing Hasidic fur hats known as shtreimels, arguing in a Facebook post that they will give the Knesset’s ultra-Orthodox parties anything they want if they win the next elections.

The current coalition, of which Religious Zionism is a part, has been pushing for the passage of legislation to exempt Haredi yeshiva students from military service. The controversial bill does not have a Knesset majority due to internal coalition dissent, including among members of Religious Zionism, although Smotrich himself has not taken a firm stand on the legislation either way.