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.
Iran has warned the United States that it would respond forcefully to an Israeli offensive on a mountainous ridge in southern Lebanon where Iranian military personnel are holed up alongside Hezbollah fighters, three officials briefed on the message told Reuters.
The U.S. and Iran found themselves back in a war footing on Wednesday after the most significant exchange in weeks, with Washington threatening even more devastating strikes while Iran protested an attack that it said killed five and wounded dozens of civilians at a wedding.
The U.N. nuclear watchdog has resolved its outstanding questions from an investigation into secret nuclear activities in Syria under the Assad family's rule but made no progress in Iran, it said on Tuesday in confidential reports seen by Reuters.
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