Today, Wednesday, the Israeli Knesset Committee approved the draft law to dissolve the Knesset (legislative body) and put the draft to a vote in the first reading.
In the event that the bill is approved by the second and third readings, elections for the Knesset will take place between 16th and 24th of March.
On the other hand, Knesset member Gideon Sa'ar submitted his resignation from the Knesset today, after announcing his split from the Likud party yesterday.
Sa'ar announced that he intends to establish a new party through which to run in the next elections.
If the draft law to dissolve the Knesset is not approved in the three readings, and the budget is not approved until December 23, the Knesset will be dissolved automatically and go for early elections within three months.
Last Wednesday, the Knesset plenary approved the draft law to dissolve the Knesset proposed by the "Yesh Atid-Telem" bloc, and 61 members supported its dissolution and 54 opposed.
The Knesset House Committee on Wednesday set March 16 as the potential date for Israelis to go to the polls, advancing legislation to dissolve the parliament as the country continued its slide toward its fourth elections in two years.
Many elections in that short period reflect turbulent conditions in the Israeli political spectrum within the last two years.
The vote on the bill passed 10-7, with the Blue and White party voting alongside opposition parties in favor of the legislation.
The MKs from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud party, as well as the coalition Shas and United Torah Judaism parties, voted against the measure.
The bill also included a proposal from Blue and White (in Hebrew Kahol-Lavan) to reduce funding for the election by around 10 percent and increase transparency to clarify who is paying for campaign advertisement.
The bill will now go up for three more plenum votes — the first on Monday, before passing into law.
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