Israel’s Netanyahu fears defeat if early elections are held, media says

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned ultra-Orthodox parties that heading to early elections in September could lead to a defeat for the ruling coalition, even though the coalition itself submitted a bill to dissolve parliament, Israeli media reported Thursday.

Israel’s Channel 12, citing informed political sources, said Netanyahu told leaders of the ultra-Orthodox parties that Israel “has not yet achieved the required accomplishment in Iran," adding that he is “not available to run an election campaign” at this time.

The broadcaster said Netanyahu believes early elections “could lead to the defeat of the governing bloc.”

The warning comes amid fears inside the coalition that it could lose an election. The coalition submitted a bill on May 13 to dissolve parliament in an attempt to preempt the opposition, which had submitted two similar bills, according to Israeli media, including Yedioth Ahronoth.

According to Channel 12, the Israeli Knesset is scheduled to vote next Wednesday on a bill to dissolve itself, unless a new security development reshuffles the political cards and prevents early elections.

The channel said a scenario in which the Knesset’s dissolution is delayed because of security developments has happened before, despite a majority at the time supporting a dissolution bill.

Opposition Yisrael Beiteinu party leader Avigdor Lieberman warned Thursday in press remarks that Netanyahu could take military action for electoral purposes amid growing talk of dissolving the Knesset and going to early elections.

Lieberman’s remarks came as Israel continues to violate ceasefire agreements in Gaza and southern Lebanon daily while expanding its occupation of territory on both fronts and stepping up incitement against Iran, Lebanon and Gaza.

The public broadcaster KAN said Wednesday that coalition chairman Ofir Katz, a Knesset member from Netanyahu’s Likud party, submitted a bill to dissolve the 25th Knesset with the participation of all leaders of the ruling coalition parties.

Under the bill, the date for early elections would be set during discussions by the Knesset Committee in an effort to organize the mechanism for dissolving parliament and control its timeline.

Israeli television stations said three possible dates have been proposed for early elections: Sept. 1, Sept. 15, or the original general election date of Oct. 27.

The developments come against the backdrop of a growing coalition crisis over a bill to exempt ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students from military service.

On Tuesday, Netanyahu told Knesset members from ultra-Orthodox parties that he was “facing difficulty” passing the exemption bill because he does not have a sufficient majority in parliament, according to the Israeli news site Walla.

That infuriated the ultra-Orthodox parties, who threatened to dissolve the Knesset and hold early elections if the bill was not passed, even though general elections are scheduled for late October.

The opposition has also pushed to dissolve parliament. Yesh Atid, led by Yair Lapid, and The Democrats, led by Yair Golan, submitted two bills to dissolve the Knesset ahead of a planned vote next week.

Analysts believe the ultra-Orthodox parties' position will be the deciding factor in whether Israel holds early elections, as their votes could tip the balance for one of the bills. That would present Netanyahu with a significant political challenge in preserving his government and avoiding its collapse at the hands of the opposition.

The opposition has long called for early elections, a step Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected.

In addition, Netanyahu has been wanted since 2024 by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, where more than 72,000 people have been killed, mostly women and children, in a brutal war since October 2023.

*Writing by Lina Altawell in Istanbul