Israel's ruling coalition submits bill to dissolve Knesset

Israel's ruling coalition submitted a bill Wednesday evening to dissolve the Knesset (parliament) amid a Haredi conscription crisis, in a move seen as an attempt to thwart a similar step from the opposition.

Ofir Katz, chairman of the coalition and a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud Party, along with all leaders of the coalition parties, "submitted this evening a bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset," said the public broadcaster KAN.

According to the bill, the election date will be determined during discussions in a Knesset committee.

The measure aims to regulate and streamline the process of dissolving the Knesset, KAN said.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu informed Haredi members in the Knesset that he was facing difficulty in passing a bill exempting yeshiva students from military service, due to his lack of a majority in the current Knesset, according to the Israeli news site Walla.

In response, the Haredi said they would support dissolving the Knesset and bringing forward the elections, originally scheduled for late October of the bill is not passed.

Shortly afterward, the Yesh Atid party, led by by opposition leader Yair Lapid, and the Democrats Party, headed by Yair Golan, submitted bills to dissolve the Knesset, indicating that they would be brought to a vote in the Knesset next week.

According to observers, the Israeli opposition is aligning itself with the Haredi in this move, pushing for early elections, a step that could potentially remove Netanyahu from the premiership after the next election.