Israel’s ruling coalition proposes early elections amid ultra-Orthodox anger at Netanyahu

Israel’s ruling coalition has submitted a proposal to dissolve parliament to pave the way for early elections as the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , came under mounting attack from ultra-Orthodox parties. The move, initiated by Netanyahu’s rightwing Likud party, came as Netanyahu appeared to be facing a possible collapse of his fractious coalition. If the bill is approved it would automatically trigger elections to be held after 90 days. “The 25th Knesset shall be dissolved before the end of its term. Elections will be held on a date… which may not be set earlier than 90 days after the passage of this law,” said the draft of the proposed legislation released by Likud on Wednesday. It was signed by leaders of the six parliamentary groups in the governing coalition. According to Israeli media reports, the bill could be put to a vote on 20 May. Its passage is widely seen as a foregone conclusion. Elections could therefore be held from the third week of August, about two months before the original scheduled end of the legislative term on 27 October. Ultra-Orthodox parties accuse Netanyahu of failing to deliver on his promise to pass a law that would permanently exempt young men from their community studying in yeshivas, or religious seminaries, from compulsory military service. Sensing an opportunity amid the turmoil, several opposition parties announced on Tuesday that they intended to introduce their own bill to dissolve the Knesset. …