Israel sets October 27 for election, first full-term vote in decades

Israel will hold general elections on October 27, the legal deadline after the current parliament completes its full four-year term on July 17, the Knesset announced Sunday. The announcement came from Knesset Speaker Ofir Katz, a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, during a debate on a party funding bill. The bill includes a provision setting the start of the election recess for July 17. If the schedule holds, this will be Israel's first election called on the legally mandated date in nearly 40 years. It will also be the first time a government completes its full term in more than 50 years. The vote will take place just 20 days after the third anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023. Knesset legal adviser Sagit Afik said the chamber "will complete its full term and will not be dissolved," meaning no dissolution law is needed since the election falls on the date set by Israeli law. The confirmation comes one month after the opposition failed to force early elections by dissolving the Knesset. That initiative was rejected by a vote of 61 to 53 after ultra-Orthodox parties Shas and United Torah Judaism, coalition partners of Netanyahu, withdrew their support. They reached a preliminary agreement with the government on a controversial law regarding military service for ultra-Orthodox Jews. In June 2024, Israel's Supreme Court ruled that the military must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews after the temporary exemption expired. The government responded by promoting a bill to preserve many of those exemptions, though it would require some members of the community to serve. The military service issue has become a major political flashpoint in Israel, especially since the war in Gaza began. The conflict has increased the military's personnel needs, forcing an extension of mandatory service and the mobilization of tens of thousands of reservists.