The Threat of Early Elections in Israel

Netanyahu could call early Israel elections

General elections could be held as early as August, according to political sources. The time slot being considered ranges from the end of August to the beginning of November, which is when the United States will be electing its next president.

As the Knesset’s summer session opens on Monday, it seems the focus will be setting a date for the elections. Over the past few days, the question of whether there would be elections this year has been replaced with the question of when this year they should take place.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu threw some more oil on the fire Sunday by saying the issue of early elections “would be clarified soon.”

At the start of a Likud ministers’ meeting, Netanyahu added: “There’s an assumption that we’re going to early elections, but there are no conclusions yet.” According to him, the opposition factions are competing with one another in broadcasting how they are itching for elections even though this is not the case.

Political sources estimate that Netanyahu would prefer elections to be before the three-week fall holidays (which begins with Rosh Hashanah on September 17, and ends with Simhat Torah on October 8 ) or even as early as late August.