Senior coalition officials are pressuring Prime Minister Netanyahu to dissolve the Knesset as early as this week, with most party leaders in the Netanyahu bloc supporting the move, according to a report in channel 12.

The pressure comes amid growing concern within the coalition over the political fallout from the government’s Chareidi legislative agenda. Officials involved in the discussions argue that continued efforts to advance measures such as the Daycare Law, the proposed Basic Law: Torah Study, and legislation aimed at halting the arrest of Chareidi draft evaders are causing significant damage to the coalition’s public standing.

Those officials are said to be telling Netanyahu that the longer he delays, the greater the political cost. In their view, entering an election campaign now would be preferable to continuing to absorb the public backlash surrounding the legislation.

Netanyahu has not yet decided whether to move forward with dissolving the Knesset. However, according to the report, doing so this week would not change the expected election date, which is still projected to be October 20.

Coalition officials also note that dissolving the Knesset would automatically remove several other major initiatives from the agenda, including the Communications Law, the proposal to split the role of the attorney general, and the Override Clause.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)