Israeli parliament to vote on new elections; Netanyahu eyes
Baku, May 7 (AZERTAC). Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will on Monday attempt to pass a bill to dissolve the parliament and set a date for new elections, a day after he announced his decision to hold an early vote.
A draft of the agenda for Monday’s meeting of the ministerial Committee for Legislation includes a vote on a bill to dissolve the 18th Knesset, and a proposal “to bring forth the date of the elections for the 19th Knesset to Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012.”
The bill is expected to easily pass the ministerial vote, but could face opposition when it comes before the Knesset later on Monday from the ultra-nationalist Yisrael Beitenu, the center-right Kadima party and the centrist Independence party, according to AFP.
On Sunday, Netanyahu said in a speech to a convention of his right-wing Likud party that he would seek an early vote in four months’ time but did not disclose an exact date.
Netanyahu’s address ended months of speculation about whether he would seek to bring forward the elections in a bid to bolster his position and capitalize on his popularity.
Polls show he could hardly have picked a better time to seek re-election, with surveys showing he easily outstrips his rivals for the office of prime minister.
Netanyahu and Obama have had a thorny relationship and the right-wing Israeli leader has come under pressure from Washington not to take unilateral military action against Iranian nuclear facilities suspected of being part of a project to produce nuclear weapons.
Iran says its nuclear program is purely civilian.
Netanyahu has been urged by Washington and other world powers to allow beefed-up international sanctions on Iran to bite. He has voiced pessimism about the outcome of international nuclear talks with Iran due to resume in Baghdad on May 23.
While opinion polls have shown strong support for Netanyahu’s leadership, they have also indicated a wide majority of Israelis either oppose an Israeli strike on Iran or would favor an attack only if it were carried out with U.S. agreement.
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