Israel Snap Election One Step Closer, But Not For Some Time

Israel moved one step closer to a snap general election following a vote in the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) yesterday. However, there remain a number of steps before the parliament is dissolved an an election date set.

• The bills approving the dissolution of parliament that were voted on and approved yesterday now head to the Knesset House Committee, under the leadership of committee chairman Eitan Ginsburg from the Blue and White (B&W) party of Defence Minister Benny Gantz. Ginsburg will have the discretion as to how long the bill remains in committee before sending it back to the Knesset floor for another vote.
• Should the dissolution bill win majority approval in the Knesset for a second time it will go to the Constitution, Law and Justice committee, chaired by Yakov Asher of the Orthodox-rights United Torah Judaism party - a close ally of PM Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party. Again, the committee chair will have the power to delay the progress of the bill back to the Knesset floor should he so wish.
• Opposition (and B&W) are clearly keen on an election sooner rather than later, to exploit Likud's multi-month low polling ratings. Netanyahu on the other hand would likely prefer to delay the election to summer, with the prospect of distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine on the horizon and the hope that this may boost his popularity.