TEL AVIV, December 3 (Sputnik) — Israeli lawmakers voted in favor of dissolving the Knesset, the country's parliament, on Wednesday after the heads of parliamentary factions agreed to hold early elections on March 17.
The dissolution of the country's parliament was supported by 84 parliamentarians, according to local media.
Earlier in the day, Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein announced that early elections would be held March 17.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the decision to hold early elections on Tuesday, after failing to overcome a dispute within his ruling coalition and firing his centrist partners from the finance and justice ministerial posts. Both ministers have severely criticized Netanyahu's government and its policies lately, in particular, its plans to increase defense expenditures and the controversial "Jewish state" bill that declared Israel a nation-state of the Jewish people. Netanyahu stressed that he would "no longer tolerate an opposition within the government."
Mid-November polls commissioned by major Israeli media outlets suggest that Netanyahu will most likely be re-elected for his third consecutive term as prime minister, the fourth in his career, expanding his rightist Likud party's presence in the Knesset.
