Netanyahu Fights Off Early Elections Amid Iran Tensions

(MENAFN) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cautioned ultra-Orthodox coalition partners Thursday that pushing toward early elections in September could spell defeat for the ruling bloc — even as the coalition itself moved to table a parliamentary dissolution bill, Israeli media reported.

An Israeli channel, citing well-placed political sources, reported that Netanyahu told ultra-Orthodox party leaders that Israel "has not yet achieved the required accomplishment in Iran," and that he is "not available to run an election campaign" at this time.

The broadcaster further reported that Netanyahu believes early elections "could lead to the defeat of the governing bloc."

The stark internal warning lays bare deep anxieties within the coalition over its electoral standing. The coalition filed a dissolution bill on May 13 in a calculated bid to get ahead of the opposition, which had already submitted two comparable bills, according to Israeli media.

The channel reported that the Knesset is set to vote next Wednesday on whether to dissolve itself — unless an unforeseen security development reshuffles the political landscape and forestalls early elections. The channel noted that such a scenario, where dissolution is delayed by security events despite majority support for a bill, has precedent in Israeli political history.

Opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman issued a sharp warning Thursday, cautioning in press remarks that Netanyahu could resort to military action for electoral gain amid intensifying speculation over Knesset dissolution and early elections.

Lieberman's remarks came as Israel continues to violate ceasefire agreements in Gaza and southern Lebanon on a daily basis, while simultaneously expanding its territorial foothold on both fronts and escalating its rhetoric against Iran, Lebanon, and Gaza.

A public broadcaster reported Wednesday that coalition chairman Ofir Katz — a Knesset member from Netanyahu's Likud party — formally submitted a bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset, with the full backing of all ruling coalition party leaders. Under the proposed legislation, the precise election date would be determined through deliberations by the Knesset Committee, granting the coalition a degree of control over the dissolution timeline.

Israeli television networks reported that three potential election dates are under consideration: September 1, September 15, or the originally scheduled general election date of October 27.

The political turbulence is unfolding against a deepening coalition crisis centered on legislation that would exempt ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from mandatory military service. On Tuesday, Netanyahu acknowledged to ultra-Orthodox Knesset members that he was "facing difficulty" passing the exemption bill due to an insufficient parliamentary majority, according to Israeli news outlet Walla.

The admission enraged ultra-Orthodox factions, who threatened to trigger Knesset dissolution and demand early elections if the bill fails to pass — despite general elections already being scheduled for late October.

The opposition has pressed aggressively on the same front. Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, and The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, submitted parallel dissolution bills ahead of next week's planned vote.

Political analysts assess that the ultra-Orthodox parties will prove decisive in determining whether Israel heads to early elections, as their votes could tip the balance on any of the competing bills — presenting Netanyahu with the formidable challenge of holding his government together and fending off a coalition collapse engineered by opposition forces.

Netanyahu has consistently resisted calls for early elections, a position the opposition has long sought to overturn.

The developments come as Netanyahu remains subject to an arrest warrant issued in 2024 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, where more than 72,000 people — the majority of them women and children — have been killed since the war erupted in October 2023.

MENAFN15052026000045017169ID1111121449