Israel parliament dissolved, October 27 election set after Netanyahu's late bills

Telaviv,UPDATED: Jul 17, 2026 12:22 IST

Israel's parliament was dissolved early on Friday after lawmakers passed a series of bills in the final hours of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's governing coalition, setting the stage for elections on October 27.

The move was widely expected as Netanyahu struggles to hold on to power ahead of the vote, with Israel nearing the third anniversary of the October 7 attack that triggered nearly three years of war. Polls in Israel are showing growing support for opposition parties led by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and a popular centrist former military chief.

The Knesset had been due to begin its summer recess on Friday and will not meet again before the election. Over the past week, lawmakers held marathon sessions to pass several controversial bills as Netanyahu pushed through a number of key projects.

Earlier this week, the Knesset passed two bills that effectively stop the enlistment of ultra-Orthodox men in the military, in a move aimed at ensuring ultra-Orthodox parties join Netanyahu's coalition in the next government. It also passed several bills linked to Netanyahu's push to overhaul the judiciary, including measures to increase government control over broadcast media and weaken the role of the attorney general. Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara has opposed the overhaul and has frequently been targeted by Netanyahu and the Israeli right.

"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, through which together we succeeded in maintaining a four-year term," Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana said while announcing the dissolution.

Completing a full four-year term is rare in Israeli politics. The last time a government completed a full term without early elections was in 1988. Israel has no term limits, and Netanyahu has served more terms than any other prime minister in the country's history, but even for him it is unusual to complete a full four-year term. Between 2019 and 2022, Israelis voted five times. According to the Israel Democracy Institute, the country holds elections every 2.4 years on average, the second-lowest gap between elections among OECD countries, highlighting its long-running political instability.

With the Knesset dissolved and the next election set for October 27, Israel now heads into another campaign after a full term marked by war, political uncertainty and a final push to pass contentious legislation.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends