Everything You Need to Know About Dissolving the Knesset
What is the process and timing involved in dissolving Knesset and initiating elections? What happens between a Knesset dissolution and the forming of a new government? Is Israel's process typical compared to other countries? All your questions answered about dissolving Israeli Knesset.
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Yes, it can—by passing a Knesset dissolution law. This mechanism is defined by section 34 of the Basic Law: The Knesset. "The Knesset shall not decide to dissolve itself before the end of its term, except by means of passing a law on this matter, by a majority of Knesset members".
First of all, Knesset dissolution laws are, for all intents and purposes, regular laws. Therefore, they must be introduced in the Knesset as a private member’s bill (i.e., sponsored by an individual or group of members of Knesset (MKs)) or a government- sponsored bill. They must go through the usual legislative processes, including three readings in the plenum and discussion and approval by a Knesset Committee (usually the House Committee). If it is a private bill, a “tabling period” is also required of 45 days between the bill being submitted to the Knesset and its being discussed (unless an exemption from this requirement is approved by the government or the Knesset House Committee), as well as a preliminary reading before the first plenum reading.
In this context, it should be noted that at any point in time, dissolution bills submitted by the opposition are tabled with the Knesset, so that (among other reasons) they can be presented for discussion and a vote if and when a suitable political situation arises. Thus, in practice, the tabling period does not constitute an obstacle to such bills.
Second, to pass the third reading, bills require the support of at least 61 Knesset members, as opposed to a plurality, which suffices for earlier readings. This requirement can present a significant obstacle: For example, if the Knesset members of United Torah Judaism and Shas withdraw from the coalition but abstain from voting on the Knesset dissolution bill, the bill will not have 61 supporters in the third reading and will not be passed.
In Israel, elections typically take place at least 90 days from the passage of the law. The law itself will state the date of the scheduled elections, which must be no more than five months after the date the law is passed. Thus, if a dissolution law is passed by the Knesset during June 2025, then elections must be held by November 2025 at the latest.
According to the principle of continuity of the Knesset (section 37 of the Basic Law: The Knesset), a Knesset assembly that has been dissolved continues to serve until the first session of the new Knesset. No special restrictions are placed on such an assembly; it is allowed, for example, to continue to enact laws (for example, the Direct Election Law was passed in 1992 after the 12th Knesset had already been dissolved through a Knesset dissolution law).
However, the legislature recognized the difficulties inherent in a Knesset that has already been dissolved continuing to operate as usual, and determined that laws that are due to expire at the end of the term of the outgoing Knesset or at the beginning of the term of the next Knesset assembly, such as emergency provisions, will automatically be extended and will only expire three months after the beginning of the new Knesset term (section 38 of the Basic Law: The Knesset).
As for the work of the Knesset committees, after the dissolution of the Knesset it is customary for the committees to convene only with the approval of the Arrangements Committee (a committee established during an election recess, whose members include the chairperson of the coalition and a member of the faction of the leader of the opposition).
According to the principle of continuity of government (section 30 of the Basic Law: The Government), the government continues to serve until a new government is established. Even if a government is not formed after the elections, and additional elections are held, the existing government continues to serve.
It is customary to use the term “transitional government” to describe this situation, but the term does not appear in legislation. The Basic Law: The Government makes reference only to the “outgoing government,” which does not cover the entire period beginning with the passage of the Knesset dissolution law, but only the period that begins with the election of a new Knesset (or after the resignation of the government—but this is not the case under discussion here).
Ostensibly, the law does not set any limits on the powers of transitional governments, and emphasizes the importance of avoiding creation of a “governance vacuum.” In one respect, transitional governments have even more powers than regular governments: from the moment a government becomes the “outgoing government” according to the law—that is, after the election of a new Knesset—it can appoint new ministers, to replace ministers who have left their positions, even without the approval of the Knesset. This is in contrast to the appointment of a minister in a regular government, which requires Knesset approval.
Over the years, however, Supreme Court rulings and attorney general directives have created various restrictions on transitional governments. In general, it has been determined that transitional governments have a narrower “scope of reasonableness,” and that these governments and their ministers must conduct themselves with restraint, unless there is a vital need for action. Specific restrictions exist regarding senior appointments in the public sector during an election period, as well as regarding “election economics”, i.e., passing budgets and promising to pass budgets immediately prior to elections (the attorney general directives 1.1501 and 1.1904 address appointments and election economics, respectively).
Passing a dissolution law does not necessarily trigger replacement of the prime minister or other ministers. However, as at any other time, the prime minister is empowered to dismiss ministers, and ministers can of course resign from the government.
According to the Knesset Regulations (section 76(h)), if a bill is not passed when voted on by the Knesset (in the preliminary readings), then a similar or identical bill cannot be put to a vote for a period of six months. However, the Knesset Speaker can decide to reduce this waiting period in certain circumstances, such that if the government decides to support a dissolution bill, it can be tabled in the Knesset and passed even within these six months.
This limitation is the main reason why opposition parties are cautious about submitting a dissolution bill for discussion and voting in the Knesset.
Very much so. Of the 24 Knesset assemblies that have completed their terms until now, elections were brought forward in 18 cases. In 14 of these, the Knesset was dissolved via a dissolution law. This was the case, for example, with the previous Knesset assembly (the 24th Knesset). In the other four instances, the Knesset was dissolved via other mechanisms for bringing forward elections: dissolution via an order from the prime minister, approved by the president (ahead of the 2003 and 2006 elections); exhaustion of the procedures for forming a government (ahead of the 2009 elections; in addition, while a dissolution law was used to disperse the Knesset ahead of the 2020 elections, it was due to be dissolved in any case shortly afterward, due to a failure to form a government); and failure to pass the state budget (ahead of the 2021 elections).
Not at all. The large majority of parliaments in democratic countries cannot dissolve themselves. This possibility exists in only a select few cases: Austria (via a simple majority) and Croatia (with a majority of at least 50% of the parliamentary members), as well as Poland (requiring a two-thirds majority), and Lithuania and Czechia (requiring a three-fifths majority).
More common mechanisms for dispersing parliament in other countries include: exhausting procedures for forming a government (an option available in Israel); dissolution by the prime minister (available in Israel, with approval from the president); and dissolution led by the head of state (a mechanism that does not exist in Israel). In Israel, the Knesset is also dissolved automatically in the event that the state budget is not passed on time (in normal years, by March 31)—another mechanism that is not commonly found in other countries (though it does exist in Estonia, for example).