Israel's parliament dissolved early Friday, completing a full four-year term, a rare feat in Israeli politics, last achieved back in 1988.
The Knesset, Israel’s parliament, in Jerusalem © Mena Today
Israel's parliament dissolved early Friday, completing a full four-year term, a rare feat in Israeli politics, last achieved back in 1988.
The dissolution came at the end of a marathon session in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition rushed through a string of controversial bills, including two laws effectively halting the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox men in the military, as well as several measures tied to his judicial overhaul, including tighter government control over broadcast media and a weakening of the powers of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara.
Elections have been set for October 27, the latest possible date allowed by law, meaning the government will have served out its full term. "We are completing a four-year term, we passed nine budgets and hundreds of bills, I thank you for the trust you placed in me," said Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana as he announced the dissolution.
At 76, Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving prime minister, heads into the campaign in a weakened position. Polls show a groundswell of support for opposition parties, led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and a popular centrist former military chief, as Israel approaches the third anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
Israel and Lebanon have agreed on Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia as potential contributors to a proposed mechanism that could see foreign troops deployed to Lebanon to verify Hezbollah's disarmament, people familiar with the matter said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu restated his rejection of Donald Trump's latest Gaza plan in televised remarks to his right-wing government on Sunday, even as Israel's military has effectively halted attacks in the territory under pressure from the U.S. President.
Syria and Russia reached a memorandum of understanding to settle the future of Russian bases at Tartous and Hmeimim following 18 months of intensive negotiations, the Syrian foreign ministry said on Sunday, according to the Syrian state news agency.
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